Anywhere But Here
by Ambiance-Dream
Summary: Fast forward to six years in the future. Anzu, now a famous dancer and part time model, has come back from NY to stay in Domino.She lands a job to model for KaibaCorp, assuring herself that she wouldn't see Seto Kaiba that much at work. Boy was she wrong.
1. The Meeting

Author's Note: Hi, I'm Ambiance-Dream, and thank you for reading my fanfic(...which I hope you will do)! Like I said in the summary, this is my very first fanfic, so please, no flames. I'm very sensitive. lol

OK, I wasn't sure how old Anzu was in the anime/manga, but I assumed that she was 15. And now she's 21.

Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or any of its characters. Unfortunately.**

**Anywhere But Here**

**Ch.1: The Meeting**

A woman in her early twenties walked briskly down a crowded sidewalk in downtown Domino. She seemed to be on a mission, judging her fast pace and expressionless face. Her eyes seemed locked straight ahead, but you couldn't tell, for a pair of expensive, stylish sunglasses covered her eyes. She had a perfect face, with flawless complexion, her soft brown, elbow-length hair gently billowing behind her. The woman wore all white, with a sleeveless turtleneck, white jeans, and a long, white coat that stopped just below her knees. Yet, in this flawless beauty, no one on that street knew that she was Anzu Mazaki. _The_ Anzu Mazaki. The famous dancer. The gorgeous model. **The** celebrity. Why? Anzu grinned. Her mere disguise of thin metal, pink sunglasses always worked well.

She stopped before a crosswalk as the light turned red, taking this moment to gaze at the city. So many things had changed since she had left six years ago to study dance in New York... the shopping centers, everything. It was no wonder why downtown Domino was so crowded-simply put, it was just a great place to be. Great shopping places, too.

Anzu sighed. Unfortunately, she wasn't there today to shop. Today, Anzu had a meeting with KaibaCorp at 11:00 sharp. They wanted to make a contract with her so that she could model for the company. Anzu sighed again. The businessman who had called her just had to make the appointment at the most inconvenient time. She had only returned back to Domino last night, only to have time to move in to her new penthouse(her furniture and stuff had come before her) and make a couple calls. She could have sent one of her agents or something to the meeting, but something told her that she should go herself. After all, she hadn't seen Kaiba in six years.

"Not that I care, or anything," Anzu thought to herself hurriedly. "Just curious about some old, high-school friends." _Ha! More like mortal enemies._ "Ok, so maybe I did almost want to choke his guts out more than once, but still, we weren't that bad..."

This, unfortunately, was total BS. But Anzu, being the optimistic, bubbly little Anzu that she was and ever will be, refused to believe this. True, she did want to strangle him 24/7 back in high school, but she never thought of him as a... nemesis or something. And anyways, that was high school. They were adults now, and Anzu was sure that they would be more... civilized... now. (A/N: Ahem, so not true)

She brushed these thoughts aside, and looked down at her silver watch. 10:26. She had half an hour left before the meeting. Good. Anzu always tended to be more than punctual, and at least fifteen minutes early for appointments and the such. She gazed across the street(A/N: This stoplight is taking forever), at the huge, modern building of KaibaCorp. Diagonally across the street was a huge mall. On top of it was a huge billboard(one of those big-screen-TV-like ones) that showed Seto Kaiba in a blue, button-up shirt, with an expensive-looking duel disc. At the bottom, it said, "Coming soon on July 18."

"So that's what he looks like now," she thought. The billboard Kaiba looked pretty much the same, except a little older(duh), shoulders a bit broader... Anzu found herself staring at his intense, blue eyes. "Dang, he is hot," she thought before she could stop herself. "Oh my gosh, did I just think that? Snap out of it, Anzu, _out_!"She quickly looked away, and her eyes fell back to the road. Into the deep blue eyes. Of a cat. In the middle of the road.

Anzu blinked. What there. What? Sure enough, an adorable white cat sat in the middle of the road, looking completely content. She heard whispers around her. "What's that cat doing there?" "It's going to be roadkill. Poor thing." "Why won't the stupid thing move?" "What's a stray doing here?" "It's not a stray, Yumi, it has a collar, see?" "Aw, it's such a cute little cat!"

The light for the perpendicular street turned orange. But a stray car still drove through. "No, I've got to save it!" Anzu automatically thought, and reacted in the first way she could think of. The driver, who apparently didn't see the cat, was about to crush the little animal... when Anzu dove in.

She scooped up the cat and hugged it tightly to her chest, and tumbled to the other side of the road... She could suddenly feel the weight of a body around her, protecting her, and they had tumbled to the edge of the sidewalk, Anzu in the person's arms...

Spicy cologne. That was what she smelled. She had sensed that they had stopped rolling, and the person-Anzu was now sure that it was a guy- had begun to untangle himself from her. As they slowly got into sitting position, she glimpsed a symbol on his trench coat. "KC". "No... it couldn't be," she whispered in shock. She stared at the symbol still, ignoring the voices and people around her("Are you alright?" "God, that driver should have stopped..."). All she could hear... was her heartbeat.

"K-Kaiba?" she exclaimed, disbelieving. The man looked at her, and she saw his brilliant, blue eyes. Ignoring this, her asked, "Are you alright?"

"Y-yes," she stuttered, but she didn't know whether he could hear her or not, because the people fussing around them had suddenly, at the sound of the word "Kaiba", froze, then go into complete insanity. "Ahhhhhhhhhhh! It's Seto Kaiba! Honey! Take out the camera!" "Ohmigod, ohmigod, it's, like, him!"

There was a flash, and Anzu looked up to see cameramen and reporters. "How did they get here so fast?" She said, exasperated. They both got up, and bodyguard people(probably working for Kaiba) appeared from nowhere to push back the crowds. Kaiba made a move to walk toward the KaibaCorp building, but Anzu(who had the cat in one arm) grabbed his arm.

"How dare you-?" he nsarled, but was cut off by Anzu, who, as she took off her sunglasses, said, "Is that really you, Kaiba?"

He didn't answer, because even more surprised voices filled the air. "Anzu Mazaki?"

Kaiba stared at her, his anger replaced by shock. "Mazaki?"

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The two people walked into KaibaCorp, away from the media(which weren't let inside the quiet building). They didn't exchange any words.

Anzu studied his back. "Shoot, even his back is attractive," she thought. Immediately she covered her mouth in horror. "Since when did I- oh my god, I just thought of him _attractive_..."

Suddenly, Kaiba stopped. He turned around to face Anzu(who's still holding the cat). "You may leave now. I'll have a limo take you home," he said a bit coldly.

Anzu was surprised for a moment. Then she remembered that he probably didn't know how famous she was now. "Um, excuse me, but I actually have a meeting here," she said.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just get out of my sight," he growled. He walked away, toward the elevators.

Anzu scowled at his back. Apparently, his temper hadn't changed over the years. "I guess what they say is true," Anzu whispered to herself. "Once a jerk, always a jerk."

She heard a soft mew. The white cat in her arms looked up at her. Anzu couldn't help but smile. She walked over to one of the couches and placed the cat down, sitting next to it. "Now, why were you in the middle of the road," she murmured, and looked at the young cat's tag. "Yoshi, 49 Kyoto Dr., Domino... Hmm ... No phone number." She quickly took out her cellphone from her purse, and pressed "2". "Hey, Lara?" she said. "Hey, um, I kind of have a cat here in my arms that I found on the road. It has a tag, so could you please get someone to pick it up? Mm-hmm. Long story. Later, I have a meeting to go to. Yeah, I'm at Kaiba-Corp. Ok. Uh-huh. Bye." She hung up and looked at her watch, It was only 10:37. Soon, a man came in and promptly came up to her. "Miss Mazaki?" "Oh, Ryan, here's the cat I was talking about. Sorry for the inconvenience." Soon, the cat was put in a little cage, and Kai left. Anzu turned off her cell- she didn't want any calls in the middle of her meeting. And there was definitely going to be some calls from her manager, Kai, after her little... tumbling incident with Kaiba, which would no doubt be on TV.

Shaking her head, she walked over to one of the counters. "Excuse me, I'd like to know which room my appointment is," she said politely. The counter-person, who was a blue-haired girl, said, without looking up, "Name, please?"

"Anzu Mazaki." The girl looked up in surprise. "Oh! Um, ok, just a moment..." As she hurriedly typed on the computer, she said in a flustered voice, "Oh, Miss Mazaki, it's an honor to serve you today...", and blabbered on about other stuff. Finally, the girl said, "your appointment with Mr Takigawa will be in his office, Office 742. That's the seventh level. Elevators are on the far right wall."

Anzu thanked her, and went into the elevator. The buttons went up to twenty. "Mn, this place is big." she said to herself, pressing the "seven" button. As the elevator began to move, she examined herself in the marble wall's reflection. Surprisingly, her white clothing wasn't even dirty. Her her hair was alright, and back into its shampoo-commercial-worthy state after she ran her fingers through it a couple times.

"Level... Four," the elevator's mechanical voice said. The doors opened, and standing there was none other than... Seto Kaiba. "...**You**," they both simultaneously said. There was a long silence as they stared at each other . The doors began to close, but Kaiba stuck an arm in, and easily opened them again, He walked in and pressed the button for Level Nine. The doors closed.

They stood there in silence. Each person was too preoccupied in his/her own thoughts to notice that that silence would be awkward.

"Him again? Why do I keep bumping into him? Geez, I think this place just got ten times hotter than before... Oh my god, Anzu, you're freaking out, just, just stop... thinking!"

"Her again? What's she doing here? I've had enough of her for a day... Damn..." Kaiba silently cursed.

"Level... seven," the mechanical voice stated. The doors glided open, and Anzu walked out, forcing herself not to spare Kaiba a glance. The doors closed. The time was 10:47.

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Seto Kaiba groaned with frustration, slamming his fists into his huge desk. Everything was going wonderful for his company- profits were up 15, and the latest edition of the duel disk was about to come out. So why was he so frustrated? "I need to get out more," he growled to himself. "Hmm ... why not? I could use a break," he thought, and was about to grab his coat, when he remembered. "Damn, those reporters will be all over me if I step out there." After a moment's thought, he took out his high-tech, wafter-thin cellphone. "Schultz? Get a limo to the southern entrance. Now." And with that, he put on his coat and walked out of his office. "I'm taking a break," he said to one of his secretary. "Yes sir," she automatically replied, and typed something onto her computer.

He walked out of the huge building and into the limo. He didn't know what was bothering him, but he would get rid of it. "Destination?" The driver said politely. "Anywhere but here," Kaiba sighed.

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Well, that's it, folks! I'll try to get Ch 2 up in a few days, but I'm a bit(scratch that, a huge) procrastinator, so don't count on it. But I have the basic plan out and everything.

I know that this chapter was really weird, but I was just testing some stuff here and there. I know I'm a horrible writer, but please don't give me flames! whimpers Well, please review, and bai bai for now!

**Anzu.** :pout: Why couldn't the cat be mine? It was cute.

**Ambiance-Dream.** Well, it's owned by some person on the other side of town. Just a prop to get you and Seto together.

**Anzu.** I'd never get with Kaiba in a gazillion years! Ugh... that meanie.

**Ambiance-Dream.** Seto Kaiba. Not Kaiba.

**Anzu.** No. _Kaiba._ Like I said, I'd never go out with _Kaiba_ in a gazillion years, and that's final.

**Ambiance-Dream.** :grins evilly: Oh, we'll see about that...

Please R&R, because I **love** reviews!(Not that I've actually gotten one before...)


	2. Memory Lane or Sleeping Beauty

Author's Note: OMG, thank you sooo much for the reviews, everyone! You guys were so nice... I expected, like, no reviews at all... So here are my specific thanks.

Princess-of-Nile: Thanks!

Mischiefmagnet: Aw, thank you for all the replies to every little detail! Yeah, I just love it when they argue. Especially when Anzu jabs her finger in Kaiba's chest!

Seguha: Thanx! I'll visit your xanga, too, soon, ok? Yeah, I wanna be friends, too!

Gauri92: Thank you!

Sweet-Lia: Thanks!

amberblood: Yeah, I really liked my cat idea, too... I actually got the idea from the manga "Alice 19th", where Alice saves the bunny... Thanks for reviewing!

Girlmagic: Thank you! Yeah, Kaiba can still be a jerk sometimes...

Tyronica: Aw, thanks! But I am a horrible writer. I mostly read. And write for fun, I guess...

KeikoGurl: Thank you! I was afraid all my little quirks and stuff were to cheesy to be funny, but apparently not! Yeah, the reason no one recognized Anzu was because of the sunglasses... and because Kaiba was... ah... covering her... Thanks for being honest!

Ok, this chapter turned out differently than I expected. I originally began Chapter 2 right after I posted chapter one(which was _very_ successful), but after reading Mischiefmagnet's review, I got an idea. So now my old Ch. 2 is Ch. 3. This chappie is also a bit of a songfic, because I just know this song that fits so well with the setoxanzu pairing... I couldn't resist. And, well, yeah.

I hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh. I also don't own the song/lyrics to the song "Wind" from "Naruto". Nor do I own the show "Naruto". :sob: I don't own anything, ok? Leave me alone:goes to little corner:**

**Anywhere But Here**

**Ch 2: Memory Lane(Sleeping Beauty)**

Seto Kaiba looked up. His limo had stopped. "Where are we, Schultz?" he grumbled. "Rosewood Park," the chauffeur answered curtly.

He got out of the limo and walked to the driver's window. "Pick me up in thirty minutes," he told Schultz through the window. "At seven o'clock, sir?" "Yes, that'd be 30 minutes," Kaiba said patiently. "Yes, sir," the chauffeur said, and drove away.

Kaiba sighed heavily. He walked slowly through the park, enjoying the last rays of golden sunlight as they spread throughout the park.

Rosewood Park was usually a fairly popular and full park, but at this time of the day, it was empty. It was a very clean place, with volunteers always cleaning it up and planting flowers, mostly roses, and trees. The park was full of trees for kids to climb, while still a peaceful place to relax. And, for some reason, the media never showed up when Kaiba was there.

Eventually, Kaiba arrived at the fountain in the middle of the park. It was magnificent. The clear, blue water was only inches deep so that onlookers could view the intricate, marble tile pattern on the fountain floor. There was a circle of Corinthian pillars in the fountain. Inside this was a number of beautiful maidens(or mermaids... you pick) around a huge, beautiful stone rose. Each petal was painstakingly carved into complete elegance. The rose was rumored to have been carved by some famous stone-carver in England. The whole fountain was on the front of many Japanese postcards; it was the pride, or "rose"(ha ha), of Domino.

And then Kaiba involuntarily took a visit down Memory Lane...

---Flashback---

_A seventeen-year-old Kaiba looked intently into the three-year-old three-year-old Mokuba's face. He was sitting on a bench near the Rosewood Fountain. He sighed, and was about to close his card-locked-necklace-_

_"Whatcha looking at, Kaiba?", a female voice asked. Kaiba snarled. He didn't need to look up to know that the voice belonged to the annoying friendship cheerleader Anzu Mazaki. He glared at her. She had walked in front of him and cocked her upper body to the side. She almost looked cute, with the wind blowing her hair... "Oh my god, what am I thinking?" Kaiba thought._

_"Nothing," he growled, closing the locket and holding the chain loosely in his palm._

_"Oh, c'mon, lemme see!" she laughed, and suddenly grabbed it out of his hand. But instead of opening it, she began to dance away. Kaiba immediately got up and chased her._

_It wasn't really a chase, but a circle-around-the-fountain kind of thing. They were both on opposite sides of the fountain, and Anzu was slightly panting, but grinning. "C'mon, Kaiba," she taunted, swinging the necklace in her hand. "Come and get it." Kaiba took a quick peek around the park to see who was watching. The area was empty except for Yugi, Joey, and Tristan, who were hooting with laughter. Then Kaiba's got an idea. Suddenly, he lunged forward, and stepped onto the outer perimeter part of the fountain. He ran a couple steps on here, then into the shallow part of the water. He was two feet away from Anzu when she suddenly squealed and ran, also in the shallow parts of the water. "C'mere!" he snarled, and chased her with growing frustration and splashes. They weaved left and right through the pillars, with Anzu's laughter echoing in the park._

_Suddenly, Kaiba stopped circling and went straight into her path. She squealed again and ran a couple steps in another direction, but Kaiba managed to grab her wrist and yank her back. She was knocked off balance, and tripped and fell. Kaiba, who was still holding her wrist,_ _was somehow dragged along, and fell on top of her with an elegant splash. He then saw Anzu's face, in an image that he would never forget._

_For that split-second, her upper body, neck and head were all submerged in the clear water. Anzu's eyes were closed, and her soft brown hair was perfectly swirled around her neck and face. Her lips were slightly parted, though no water seeped in. She looked like a water goddess..._

_Anzu gasped loudly as she surfaced. Her nose bumped with Kaiba's, and his surprised eyes instantly steeled into their usual, cold way. Anzu found herself lying there in the water with her elbows to prop her up, and Kaiba looming over her, straddling her, with his hands by her shoulders._

_Suddenly, the locket in her hand(underwater) opened with a little "click", and revealed Mokuba's smiling face. Kaiba braced himself for whatever Anzu might say, expecting an insult of some kind._

_Instead, Anzu looked at the picture."Mokuba," she said slowly, barely over a whisper. There as a silence, and a faint smile played on Anzu's lips. Not a satisfied smirk, but a gentle, caring smile. "Such a sweet kid," she murmured. "Always smiling." There was another silence..._

_"Ey, moneybags! Get off of our Anzu, ya freak!" he heard Joey yell. They both looked up, and the Geek Gang was standing by the fountain. Joey was all red in the face with a giant pulse on his head. Yugi and Tristan were holding him back with difficulty._

_Kaiba casually got up while gripping the locket tightly in his hand, and noticed that only his shoes and the very bottom of his pants were wet. And maybe his knees and handcuffs, too, but that as it. His pants were black, so they didn't look any different with the water in them._

_Anzu also got up, but she was worse off. Her hair was all wet(though that oddly looked very good on her), and her baby blue top was soaked. Her jean-colored skirt was kind of wet, but mostly alright._

_"Oh my gosh," she exclaimed, looking at herself. She was too shocked to even glare at Kaiba. She put her hair back in a ponytail, and stumbled over to Tristan and grabbed her dark blue and white jacket from him, and put it on, zipping it all the way up._

_Kaiba suddenly smirked at the glaring Joey. "Come and fight me, then," he taunted. "Or is our dear little mutt restrained by the Chihuahua and Dachshund? How pathetic."_

_"W-why, you! Ya can't even keep yo balance, you numbskull! A three- year- old could push ya down, ya jerk!"_

_"Um, actually, he didn't really fall," Mazaki said in a small voice. She obviously didn't want to be "defending" Kaiba, but she didn't really have a choice. "I actually kind of tripped and pulled him down."_

_Kaiba smirked, and turned and walked away, not even caring to see their reactions. "Don't fight fights you can't win, Wheeler," he sneered, and walked out of the park, into a waiting limo. He could still hear Joey screaming insults, but Kaiba had already left._

---End Flashback---

"Oh my god." Kaiba suddenly realized where his thoughts had wandered to. "I as thinking about... _her_." Kaiba groaned and mentally slapped himself. An image of the submerged Anzu suddenly popped up in his mind.

_Hmmmmm... interesting,_ the oh-so-infamous-conscience-in-Kaiba's-head said slyly. "Where did **you** come from?" Kaiba growled. " I thought I got rid of you a while ago." _Oh, I'll always be with you,_ the voice chuckled. _And now we must get Anzu with you, too..._ "Damn, shut up!" he snarled, and a few startled pigeons flew away. He leaned back on the bench, crossing his arms. "She's a freak, and I barely even know her! Why am I even thinking about her?" he suddenly sneered. _Wrong, and wrong again,_ the voice said in a very annoying voice. _She is _not_ a freak, and you do know her well. Her parents are always gushing about her._

This, Kaiba admitted grudgingly, was true. Mazaki's parents- Hideki and Sakura Mazaki- were, at one point, his business partners, and he had learned quite a lot about her, though not intentionally. Apparently, she had lived alone since freshman year, because her parents practically lived in the states. They had mostly ignored her existence for her high school years, but after she had turned famous, they made it very well known that the great business duo Hideki and Sakura Mazaki were, indeed, Anzu's parents.

Kaiba groaned inwardly. "There you go again. You _will_ stop thinking about her, and you _will_ stop **now**," he told himself. And with that, he concentrated on the scenery.

Which was a mistake, unfortunately. Because, walking through the park at that moment was, unmistakably, Anzu Mazaki. The fading sunlight danced on her face, lingering in her crystal blue eyes. She hadn't noticed Kaiba, and was humming a soft tune. Mazaki crossed toward the fountain, on the opposite side that Kaiba was on. She was wearing the same thing she wore this morning, and her arms were crossed over her chest. As she slowly walked closer to Kaiba, he could hear the words that she was quietly singing:

"_Don't try... to live so wise..._

_Don't cry... cause you're so right_

_Don't dry... with fakes or fears..._

_'Cause you will hate yourself in the end..."_

She walked past the fountain, and slowly into a grove of trees. Kaiba found himself getting up and following her at a distance. "What are you doing?" he screamed at himself. "Just... taking a walk through the trees..." And he left it at that.

Anzu began to lightly dance as she walked. She twirled with gentle grace, her delicate hands carefully positioned in the air. Anzu's clear, beautiful voice rang out softly again:

"_You say, 'Dreams are dreams_

_'I ain't... gonna play the fool... anymore...'_

_You say... ' 'Cause I still got my soul...'_

"_Take your time baby, your blood needs slowing down_

_Breach your soul to reach yourself before you gloom_

_Reflection of fears make shadows of nothing... shadows of nothing..."_

She began to hum the tune, and began to sing again:

"_You still are blind, if you see a winding road,_

_'Cause there's a always a straight way to the point you see..."_

She began to hum the chorus again. As she started to cross the street, an oncoming car approached. Kaiba felt a sudden urge to pull her away...

The car stopped. Anzu cheerily waved at the driver in thanks, and walked across the street. She entered a very tall building that looked very new and expensive, and Kaiba immediately recognized it as the "Rosewood Suites"- an expensive, new housing place with apartments, condos, and penthouses for people who had the money.

"So this is where she lives," Kaiba muttered before he could think. His eyes widened , then contracted, and he growled. "God, I've been _stalking_ her for the last-" He checked his watch. "-ten minutes. What is **wrong** with me? ... I need a change of scenery...

As if on cue, a black limo smoothly glided in front of him, and Schultz came out to open his door. With a grunt, Kaiba got in the car. The door closed, and Kaiba said,"The mansion." The car took off.

Gradually, the song that Mazaki was singing played in his head. Where had he heard it before? It sounded so familiar...

Then Kaiba remembered. When Mokuba was younger, he loved to watch anime cartoons, one of them being(AN: Ha ha, I almost wrote Yugioh)Naruto. And the ending song was the one that Anzu was humming.

Kaiba smirked. Mystery solved. Wait, why did _he_ care? Kaiba scowled and looked outside.

They had arrived at the mansion, and Schultz soon opened the door. Kaiba got out and walked up the stone steps to his home. The great double doors were opened for him, and he walked in. He took off his coat and gave it to one of the maids, who hurried off to put it away. And standing on the grand marble staircase was Mokuba, who was wearing a very Seto-like smirk.

Mokuba had definitely changed over the years. Now seventeen, he had certainly turned form cute to handsome. His black hair was a bit more tame, but still had a bit of a rugged look. He was taller, and he wore more... fashionable(?) clothing. Mokuba was now a junior at Domino High, and had his own ring of (unwanted) fangirls ... just like Seto.

"What?" the older Kaiba growled, loosening his tie.

"...I thought you said you didn't have a girlfriend," Mokuba said.

"I don't," Seto said menacingly. He usually didn't talk like this to his brother, but he could tell where this conversation was going.

"Nor did you ever take interest with women or treat them like anything more than staff and secretary," Mokuba said in that same smug voice.

"I don't," Kaiba growled again.

"Then what's this all over TV about you and Anzu Mazaki?" he inquired, grinning broadly.

Kaiba froze. He didn't expect his. "What?" he said.

"Mmm-hmm. Turned on the TV, and there you were, lying on top-"

"That was an accident!"Seto snarled. He stomped up the stairs past his brother, determined to keep his face turned away from Mokuba's so that he couldn't see how red Seto was.

Mokuba made a clicking noise and said,"Don't get me wrong, big brother, you picked a great girl. I'd take her if she wasn't taken already. If I were to choose a girlfriend for you, it'd be her. She's nice, caring, funny, _beautiful_..."

"Mokuba, I have nothing to do with her, so don't bother," Seto called back, walking swiftly toward his office.

"...Rich and famous,"Mokuba finished, acting like he hadn't heard Seto. He followed his brother. And right before Seto could slam the door in his face, Mokuba said thoughtfully," Anzu Kaiba... I _like_ it!" **_Slam!_**

Mokuba smirked and lightheartedly skipped down the stairs. Mission accomplished.

Meanwhile, Seto Kaiba sat in his big swivel chair, head in hands. He didn't care about Mazaki at _all_, that was for sure... but when Mokuba mentioned her name,... why did he _blush?_

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So... voila! That's chapter two... I know that I changed Joey/Jou and Tristan/Honda's name from Japanese to English, but I've barely read the manga before, so I was afraid to get it wrong. Sorry. This chappie didn't rally go as I planned... I think things happened too fast... I dunno. Rosewood Park...:sigh: How romantic...

Note: I hope you guys get the title of this chapter. I dubbed it "Sleeping Beauty"(in parenthesis), because of the split-moment in Kaiba's flashback when he sees Anzu underwater. Kind of like an implied metaphor. And don't think of it as Disney's "Sleeping Beauty", mind you!

Ok, if any of you guys have ideas for the future chapters, please tell them to me in the reviews! I occasionally have writer's block, so all ideas are welcome!

Well, thanks for reading chapter two! Please review, because I love reading them and take every single one to heart. OMG, I'm beginning to sound like Yugi...

So until next time,

Bai Bai

Love,

Ambiance-Dream


	3. Old Times

Author's Note: Hi everyone! Thank you for all the fantastic reviews for the past two chappies! I'm so excited and grateful for all of you readers and reviewers out there! Wow, _25_ reviews total... Much more than I expected. Here are my personal thanks to all the people who reviewed. I clumped everything together this time to "conserve" room.

**Seguha**: Thank you! Sorry, I don't have an AIM or MSN. I know, it's pathetic, but my dad says that it gets really annoying... **mischiefmagnet**: Thanks for the encouragement! Oh, and don't take me wrong. I really like your long reviews. They help me a lot. **Gauri92**: Aw, thank you! **TennyoCeres1982**: Thanks! **yugiohfan2005**: Yeah, I like yamixanzu pairings, too, but my current fav is setoxanzu. Thanks for reviewing! **KeikoGurl**: Yeah, I was a bit worried about Kaiba's feelings, too. I guess that they aren't romantic feelings, just some idle thoughts. I dunno. Thank you for being honest! **suzieq2005**: Thanks! **DK Raven**: Thank you! **Blackrosewitch**: Thanx! **girlmagic**: Thank you! I actually meant to write "Mrs Anzu Kaiba" to make it clear, but I guess you understood! **Gekkou Hana**: Thanks! Just so you know, I **love** your stories. **amberblood**: Thank you for the compliments and being honest! **KaibaYamiLover**: Thank you! **Kagome1316**: Thank you! Aw, my story's not _that_ awesome... it's decent, I guess... **SilverStorm106**: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!

Okies, so that's done. Now. :rubs hands together: On to other stuff. I've got a lot to say, so bear with me.

**(1)** I just want you guys to know that I'm going to refer to all of the characters in their American names, ok? I'm not that familiar with the Japanese ones. In addition, I made a character up(Turi Kuriko) in this chapter. I don't speak Japanese, so the name is completely made up. Not authentic at all.

**(2)** I know that Kaiba's feelings were a bit... I dunno... obsessive?... forward?... in the last chapter. Sorry if I was a bit too rushed in that part. I just _had_ to write it.

**(3)** Um, I have a couple fanfic words that I don't understand. Can anyone enlighten me?  
Words: -shipping(azureshipping, crownshipping, etc.); lemon

**(4)** Um, I want everyone to know that in some parts of this chappie and maybe future ones, Anzu will be going out a lot for shopping, etc. Sometimes there isn't any media around. The reason for that is because... Hm... Because Anzu looks different in real life than on TV and stuff. That's how it is for real celebs, I think. I dunno.

**(5)** From now on, I can't update as often, unfortunately, because:

1- School's starting soon

2- My family's moving... Literally across the street. Actually, three streets, but whatever.

I'm going to be more busy over the next month. Sorry.

**(6)** I made an arcade game in this story called "DDR Freestyle" I'm not really one for dancing, so I kind of made up the "Dance Battle" thing. I have vaguely heard about dance battles before, but I don't know much about them. So I made up a lot of stuff. Sorry!

**(7)** This chapter's reeeaaaally long. Kind of. Well, longer than the first two. There's not much romance; it mostly has to do with the gang and stuff. It's also very melodramatic. And cheesy. Ok, I've warned you, so don't criticize me too much:wince:

Ok, that's all I can think of right now! On to chapter three:salute:

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh. Nor do I own any of the music listed in this chapter. But I _do_ own the Dance Dance Revolution Freestyle thing. But not Dance Dance Revolution. Gosh, that game is _fun_...**

**Anywhere But Here**

**Ch. 3: Old Times**

The morning light of the next day bled through the blue and pink curtains of Anzu's bedroom. It spread itself over the room, casting a warm, golden glow on the said room. Anzu sat amid the mess of what was a blue and pink blanket, half-asleep, enjoying the warmth from the sun and blankets intoxicating her.

A loud version of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (by Green Day) suddenly blasted from her cellphone, which was rumbling. "Uhhh," she groaned. She did not want to get up, or move, or do anything at the moment. Yesterday had been long. The meeting yesterday hadn't exactly been boring, but extremely time consuming. She and Mr Takigawa went over so many little technical things... it as a bit exhausting.

After that, she had gone back to her home to adjust all her little and not-so-little accessories in her house, which took a ridiculous amount of time... and then she had to endure a talk with her publicity manager, Kai. But that had actually gone differently than she had expected.

---Flashback---

_"...There," Anzu whispered, putting a vase of exotic flowers on her dining table. She rushed off to adjust something else, when the phone(actually, phones) rang. Anzu picked one up. "Hello?"_

_"Anzu, what's all this all over the propaganda?" the male voice exploded. Anzu put it on speakerphone and turned down the volume."Hello, Kai," she said miserably, knowing that she was in trouble. "Eh, what are you talking about?" she hesitantly asked._

_"Don't play dumb. Right when I turned on my office TV this afternoon, _you_ were all over it. That's always very good or very bad. Tell me, what were you thinking?"_

_"Anzu sighed, adjusting the magazines on the wall rack. "_Sorry_, I just couldn't watch that cute cat on the road get squashed into a little... kitty sandwich. By the way, how is it?"_

_"One of the staff returned it to its rightful owner. But don't change the subject. But let's concentrate on what's really important here. Kaiba! How did you get him to hug you like that? And he was lying _**on top of you**_."_

_"Wha-?" Anzu began, but then she realized how it must have looked for them to... Anzu felt her face grow hotter by the second. Instead of answering Kai, she said, "Was the whole thing recorded or something?"_

_"Duh," was Kai's reply. "Just turn on your TV. Every channel's talking about it, but go to 16; I want us two to be watching the same thing." Anzu did this, and the plasma TV suddenly sprang to life. "Anzu Mazaki. The rising celebrity with the grace of the impossible. Seto Kaiba. The CEO of one of the world's most powerful companies. What do these two have in common? Believe it or not, they have a relationship that is more than meets the eye. Joe Hishiato has the story." The screen suddenly showed the face of a young man with blond hair. He was standing right in front of KaibaCorp. "Anzu Mazaki woke up to a very busy morning. As she was walking through downtown Domino today at ten in the morning, she had a very busy meeting with KaibaCorp to go to. The world-renowned dancer and part-time model had only come back to Domino last night, and already she was down to business. Her day was about to get busier. This morning, Anzu Mazaki was reported to have a saved a _cat_ in the middle of this crosswalk that I am standing by right now. She jumped into the middle of the street and scooped the cat up, and tumbled to the other side of the road. What's more, witnesses say that _Seto Kaiba_, the famous, handsome CEO of KaibaCorp, had followed suit, and had run into the road with her also to save something. But instead of saving a cat, he saved Anzu. No one was hurt, and both parties refuse to say anything more to the media."_

_The screen was replaced with a video. It didn't show the first part of the... ordeal, but started with Anzu grabbing the cat. She fell down, and out of nowhere, Kaiba's black and silver coat covered her. After stopping at the other side, they both sat up, and eventually got up. Then, Anzu slowly took off her sunglasses. Anzu turned off the TV. "Where did they get all the information about my whereabouts?" she asked Kai, exasperated. He didn't answer. "Kai?"_

_"See? The spotlight's on you. This is awesome!" Kai answered._

_Anzu was confused for a second. "Y-you're saying that this is a good thing?" she asked in disbelief._

_"Uh... yeah... I mean, you're publicity's up and all...," Kai said slowly, as if speaking to a third grader._

_Anzu sighed in relief. "Whew! I thought you were mad at me," she exclaimed._

_"Why, of course not! Now that you and Seto Kaiba are an item, your popularity will shoot up, higher than ever. Though it **is** already amazingly high as it is-"_

_"Uh, **no**," Anzu replied firmly. "Kaiba and I are **so** not an item. And that is fi-nal." She emphasized the last word._

_She heard an exasperated sigh at the other end of the phone. "Uh, **yes**," Kai said, mimicking Anzu. "You and Kaiba are **so** an item, and _that_ is fi-nal. I will make **sure** to hook you two up. Why didn't I think of it before? You... Kaiba... it goes together like bread and butter!"_

_"Whatever," Anzu sighed, rolling her eyes. But little did she know how serious Kai was._

---End Flashback---

She was brought back to reality from the abrupt stop of her cellphone music. Apparently, she had accidentally pressed the green button. "Oh!" She quickly put the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Good morning, Anzu!" Serenity's bright voice said. "Oh, hey Serenity!" Anzu replied cheerfully. She always looked forward to Serenity's calls- she was like a little sister to her. Serenity, Mai and Anzu had gotten very close after Battle City.

"So, what's up?" Anzu asked. "Oh, nothing," Serenity said sarcastically. "Let's see... I'm just going to be seeing my best friend aka big sister for the first time in _six_ years! Not to mention that she's now a famous celeb who I probably won't recognize..."

Anzu giggled, her reluctance to get up forgotten. She flopped over on her bed so that her legs could slowly crisscross in the air. "I hope you didn't forget our shopping date today," Serenity said sternly.

"How could I forget?" Anzu laughed. "I'll send a limo to pick you up, and the Mai, ok? I'll show you guys around my place, and then we'll go downtown. And after that, we'll prepare for the get-together with the guys tonight, ok?"

"Sounds good to me," Serenity replied. "Come over at say... ten?" Anzu said that it was great, and they hung up. And with that, Anzu hopped out of bed.

After going to the bathroom to brush her teeth and everything, Anzu went back into her bedroom to pick an outfit. She finally chose a pale pink cami top with no jacket; judging from a brief look outside, today was going to be a breezy but warm summer day. She chose a short, beige skirt and put on a pair of simple, white flip-flops with two white flowers with sequined-centers. Anzu then put her hair half up, in a half -bun to the side.(AN: I dunno how to explain it, but it looks really good.) She was never really one for lots of make-up, so Anzu only put on the faintest bit of pink eyeshadow and some shiny lip gloss. To top it of, Anzu put on a pair of sliver, dangling earrings with little, pink puffs.

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Serenity's first reaction to seeing Anzu's transformed look... was screaming. (AN: How un-Serenity-like!) "Ohmigod, ohmigod, ANZU!" she screamed, jumping up and down at the sight of her friend(while hugging her at the same time). Anzu had just emerged from her limo and was doing all she could to make Serenity quieter and let go of her. "Shush, Serenity! IF anyone hears you, the media will be on me like dogs!"

Suddenly, she felt a pair of eyes on her. "Joey!" she screamed, and ran up to hug him. (She was unaware of Anzu in the background, muttering something about hypocrites.) He instantly blushed a deep shade of red. "Now, Joey," she laughed, giving him a playfully stern eye. "Don't you dare let Mai see you drooling like that. It's unseemly." Joey, who really was drooling, instantly snapped his saliva back up(ewww).

Anzu let Serenity get in the limo first. Before she got in, though, she called out to Joey, "I'll see you at the get-together at Yugi's tonight!" Joey nodded dumbly.

When the door was fully closed, Serenity began to laugh really hard. "What's so funny?" Anzu asked. Serenity smiled. "You should have seen the _look_ on Big Brother's face when he saw you!  
Anzu grinned. "Yeah, his eyes were like dinner plates," she giggled. They chatted about old times at school and Battle City among other things.

Serenity, who was not twenty, was still in college, so she wasn't able to go out with the gang very often. She was learning to be a teacher at a school for kids with disabilities. She was still quiet and shy around strangers, but had grown to be more outgoing over the years. Today, Serenity's auburn-colored hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, with her long bangs at both sides of her head. She wore a light pink button-up shirt and white pants.

Soon, the white limo pulled up to Mai's fairly large complex, and there was Mai, leaning on the gate. When Serenity and Anzu got out of the car, Mai squealed, and crushed Anzu in a death-gripped-hug. "Ohmigod, ohmigod, ANZU!" Mai screamed. Anzu winced, and laughed, saying, "Precisely what Serenity said." Mai also laughed, and Anzu returned the fierce embrace. Mai took a step back to look Anzu over. "Look at you," she said in awe. "I knew you were gorgeous from all the magazines and stuff, but you are _different_ in real life!" After some chatting, they eventually got in the limo. "Let's go to my place," she told the chauffeur. "Wow," Mai said in an admired voice as she examined the high-tech gadgets on the car, such as the flat-screen TV that descended from the ceiling and a laptop that had wireless internet. "Even **I** don't have such high-tech stuff in my limo," she said in awe.

And that said something about Anzu's wealth. Mai was now a famous fashion designer, founder of the huge company, "ValentineHart." It was _very_ successful, and sold clothing, perfume, and makeup. Now that Anzu was back in Japan, Mai had invited her to model for fun for ValentineHart's ads and magazines. Mai was wearing a black halter top and a short skirt. Her long locks of blonde hair curled at her waist.

After a few minutes, the three girls arrived at Anzu's complex. Serenity and Mai looked in awe at the lobby on the first floor, which had a cherry-blossom theme. The whole lobby was _huge_ and the ceiling was seven stories up, with a sunroof. Beyond that was an aerial garden for the higher levels, which were divided into two different sections. "This place must be _expensive_!" Serenity exclaimed as they got in the elevator.

Anzu rolled her eyes. "Is there anything the Anzu Mazaki can't buy?" she joked. "Great, now I"m beginning to sound like Kaiba..." She instantly froze, realizing what she had just blurted out.

Serenity didn't seem to notice anything about Anzu's reaction to her own comment. "Oh yeah what was that that happened between you and Mr Kaiba yesterday? It's all over TV. I'm surprised that the media hasn't found us yet."

"Oh, um, well, we have our ways of hiding ourselves from them. Celebs are are always experts at this kind of stuff," Anzu replied.

"But how about you and Kaib-"

"Oh, here we are, the fifteenth floor" Anzu interrupted, flustered, and quickly exited the elevators. "This is such a peaceful place. There are only two complexes on this floor, so it's quiet. And it has a **great** view. There are actually sixteen floors to the building, but the sixteenth is a garden. Isn't that cool?"

Serenity nodded enthusiastically, but Mai only smiled. "Hmmm," she thought. "Anzu usually doesn't interrupt people like that. I wonder if it has to do with Kaiba..." Mai put on a sly look. She let her mind wander as Anzu fumbled with the house keys. "It'd be good for Anzu to have some, ah... romance now. From her calls in New York, she didn't seem to even _have_ a love life. Too busy, I guess..."

"Ta-da!" Anzu opened the door to reveal her glorious penthouse. They walked in through a little hall, and into the living room. All the floors were bamboo wood. The furniture and exquisite decorations were all contemporary. There was an expensive black leather couch, a dark blackish-brown entertainment center/table, and a matching coffee table. Above the entertainment center was a huge plasma TV. Modern, contemporary lights brightened the place as they arrived with a click of a button.

"OK, you guys can look around for a second, I just need to check something on my computer really quickly. Make yourselves at home," Anzu hurried off to her little study room.

Mai and Serenity slowly meandered through the huge place. The kitchen, which was beside the front door and living room, was full of stainless steel machines and had a red and white theme. As they walked through the dining room, breakfast nook, balcony, and the other places, Serenity and Mai could clearly see that Anzu had indeed chosen a great place to live.

"Alright, we can go now! Oh, did you guys go upstairs?" Anzu asked. The others shook their heads. "Oh, c'mon, that's the best par" She lead them up some stairs near the front door. She then opened the door at the top. They stepped outside.

The gardens on top of the Rosewood Suites was breathtaking. It was a mini version of the Rosewood Park across the street. There was a fountain in the center, though this one was a stone rose in the center with trees growing _in_ the fountain. An iron fence lined the perimeter, only adding beauty to the garden. There were beautiful flowers _everywhere_, and a strong scent of roses and lavender filled the air.

After ten minutes of looking around, Anzu finally broke the silence. "You guys can come over here anytime in the future, ok? Here are a set of my keys." She handed one to Mai and one to Serenity. "Ok, let's go!" she cheerily said. Soon, they were on the limo, off to downtown Domino for a promising day.

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The bright lights of a Dance Dance Revolution Freestyle game flashed temptingly at the edge of the SOGO mall's arcade, which was connected to the food court. A pretty girl with short, green hair sauntered up to the game and hopped onto the dance pad. As the music started, she began to show off dance moves and steps. Two of her friends stood by the pad, cheering her.

Anzu slowly sipped her strawberry smoothie, watching her. She was sitting in the adjacent food court with Mai and Serenity. They had feverishly shopped for three hours straight. Which wasn't that long a time, actually, but it was exhausting if you were one of the three girls. The trio had a tradition when they were younger to shop for hours and hours on end as if there was no tomorrow. Not that they actually bought tons and tons of stuff; it was more like they covered a lot of area. The girls had mowed through _three_ malls and they were actually shopping on all seven floors of each mall, not just running through them. It wasn't actual shopping, but more like the occasional sheer fun that they'd do once or twice a month.

And now the three wre exhausted. They had went to the underground food court in the SOGO mall, and had eaten a very satisfying meal.

Mai had been watching Anzu closely for the past couple hours. Her suspicion on Anzu having something to do with Kaiba had turned from a minor, wandering thought to something worth investigating. Mai slyly smiled. Ooh, she just _loved_ being matchmaker.

And could there be a more perfect couple to match? Sure, maybe they hadn't been on best of terms in Duelist Kingdom or Battle City, but that was long ago. Mai was sure that they'd be great together. And soon. Mai wasn't one to hesitate, and was very forward in romance(as you can see). They had already taken a big step- the cat act. Seriously, how romantic! Which brought her to wonder...

"Say, Anzu, what's with you and Kai-?" Just as she expected, Anzu interrupted with a huge slurp of her smoothie. She faked a cough, and said, "_That_ went down the wrong way." Mai rolled her eyes. That was the fourth time she had asked, and that was the fourth time Anzu had cut her off.

"Aaaanzuuu," Mai drawled, resting her chin on her hand. "I know you too well to fall for that. C'mon, hon, answer my question. What's all this on TV about you and Kaiba?"

Anzu blushed, though she tried hard not to. The embarrassment of having Seto Kaiba pressed on top of her body in front of flashing cameras, while hugging her _protectively_, was finally sinking in. Even though this person was an arrogant jerk, he was still a male, and to have a body pressed up against you like that... Well. _That_ doesn't happen every day.

Mai snapped her fingers in Anzu's face. "Anzu. Anzu! You're spacing out again... So... answer my question."

Anzu looked at them and sighed. Mai was staring intently in her face, and Serenity had perked up, thoroughly interested. There was no way out of this one. But Anzu would still fight.

"I'll be clear," she replied, surprised at how steady and calm her voice seemed. "There is nothing, _nothing_, going on between me and him. The little... ah... _thing_ that happened yesterday was an accident. That's it. End of story."

The other two didn't bite. "I know there must be more," Serenity pressed, smiling mischievously.

"Nope. Nada. Except for a little contra-... Em, like I said, there's nothing between us." Anzu bit her lip and mentally punched herself. That was the first time in a _long_ while that she had made a slip like that.

As expected, Serenity and Mai pounced. "Contract? You have a contract with Kaiba?"

"With KaibaCorp, yes. Wait, no, not like that! It's _business_, and it will **_strictly_** be only business," Anzu said hurriedly after seeing the look passed between Mai and Serenity.

"Mmmm," was the only reply Mai gave. That would be enough questioning for now. She didn't want Anzu suspicious. There was a thoughtful silence.

"Hey," Serenity said suddenly. "What's with that crowd around the arcade?" They looked over there. Sure enough, a huge crowd was forming around the DDR game. "Let's go check it out," Anzu suggested. The trio picked up their shopping bags and stuff, and walked over to the crowd.

Two people were competing on the dance pads. Anzu recognized one of them to be the green-haired girl who was playing earlier. Her competitor was a blonde-haired girl with glasses.

Each girl was on a huge dance pad, freestyle dancing(Hence the name of the game) to a song. The way that the machine worked for a two-player competition(Dance Battle) was that each girl first picked a song from the huge variety that the game had. Then, one of the two songs were randomly chosen to play first. As the two opponents began to dance, a very high-tech computer recorded their moves through the touch-sensitive dance pad and the video scanner, which both identified and rated each move. An overall score was made for each player, and a winner was announced. This highly addictive game had only been released for three weeks, but it had quickly become a very popular game, drawing huge crowds when the opponents were good.

Soon, the dance battle ended, with the green0haired girl the victor. Anzu began to clap, but her hands froze in midair. Instead of smiling and showing good sportsmanship, the girl smirked and held her hand out. The blonde girl slowly put something in it. Anzu caught a glimpse of it and gasped. Money? They were betting in the mall? It was illegal to bet like this in a dance duel... at least in all indoor malls in the city of Domino. Such dance battles could only be held in official competitions that were permitted.

The blonde girl slowly got off of the dance platform. The other girl looked arrogantly at the crowd, obviously enjoying the attention and power. "Well, who dares to challenge me in a dance duel?" she sneered. "I'll crush any of you."

Anzu grinned. This was going to be fun. "No one?" the girl said loudly over the crowd. "No one wants to dance against me? Are you that afraid? Not that I blame you- you must all know how good a dancer I am. I haven't lost to anyone today. No one challenges me?"

"I challenge you," Anzu said in a clear voice. The crowd turned to look at her. Even Mai and Serenity looked shocked. (AN: Ooh, I just _love_ drama!)

"Mmm...ok," her opponent-to-be said in a bored tone. "You'll probably be a waste of my time, but I guess I have nothing else to do. But you do know how DDR duels work, right?"

"Yes, I do," Anzu said with a thin smile. This girl was **so** in for it. She wouldn't even know that she was playing against a world-renowned dancer. Anzu shared mischievous glances with Mai and Serenity. "Don't go too hard on her," Serenity mouthed.

Anzu made her way up to the DDR platform. "I don't care what your name is, but you'll want to know mine when I get famous. I'm Turi Kuriko."

"Mmm," was Anzu's calm, indifferent reply. A flash of irritation flew across Turi's face, but she quickly smoothed it over. "Now, when you play with **me**, we go by **my** rules. Dancing is all about the money- without it, it is nothing. Our bet is simple. You bet some cash, I bet some cash. Winner takes all."

Though her poker face revealed nothing, Anzu "Mentally" gritted her teeth together. She'd have to teach Turi a lesson about the real meaning of dancing some time. As in now.

"I'll wager... $200. Would you like to raise it?" Turi said, smirking again.

Anzu's expression didn't change, but she though, "This girl is really full of herself! Her ego needs some hammering down... Wait, this is a lot like _someone_ I used to know..." (hint hint)

Anzu gestured at the blonde girl with glasses, who was watching among the big(and growing) crowd. "How much did you bet with her?"

"$100," Turi replied indifferently.

"Man, these people bet a _lot_!" Anzu thought. She grinned, an idea forming in her mind. "Hmm...ok," she said out loud. "I'll raise it to five times that." A gasp rippled through the crowd. "W-what?" Turi asked, surprised.

"Ok, I'll just do the math for you. One hundred times five is... Five hundred bucks. I'll lower it if you don't have enough money," Anzu taunted.

"No, it's fine," Turi said quickly. "I have enough money... but do you?" she sneered.

Anzu sighed and took her wallet out of her purse. She waved a wad of one hundred bills in a bored fashion at the surprised Turi. "Uh huh. Now do you want to raise the stakes or begin the battle?" Turi opted for the latter.

Both girls went up to the two computer screens at the front of each pad. They each chose a song for both players to dance to. Then, they backed up onto the seven-foot-by-seven-foot dance platforms, waiting for the music to begin.

Turi's choice of music played first. It was the famous American song, "Toxic," by Britney Spears. Anzu let the music flow through her ears, then into her blood... traveling in her hot veins, pumping through her body...

Soon, Turi's song ended. Anzu's began. It was a seven-minute club mix of the techno/rock song "All The Things She Said," by TATU, a duo of two Russian(or maybe Yugoslavian... I dunno) girl singers.

Anzu slowly closed her eyes again, embracing the music. _This_ was what she lived for. The feeling of the music _inside_ her, rushing through her head... the exhilaration, the _grace_ of the dance... _True_ dance came from inside of you... it came from inside your _blood_... _That_ was the true meaning of dance...

_...The rhythm pumping in your veins, becoming one with your heartbeat..._

_...So much freedom... the only thing to restrain you is yourself..._

The music faded away, leaving a soft beat, which, too, soon ceased. Anzu opened her eyes reluctantly, letting the music drain out of her body.

The two computer screen, which had had animations while the music was on, turned black. A white word was blazed across each one: "**Processing...**" Then, the results appeared.

"Player... One," the mechanical voice stated. "87.7 percent. B plus."

Turi relaxed, smirking at the audience. In this dance game, B+ was extremely good.

"Player... Two," the same female mechanical voice said. "97.8 percent. A plus."

Turi's smirk was wiped off. "Th- that's impossible!" she sputtered. "No one's ever gotten above 91.4 percent! This machine must be broken!"

Whispers immediately rippled through the crowd. Finally, one person called out, "No. We saw her dance. She was magical; she clearly won." Murmurs of agreement filled the air.

Anzu crossed her arms and walked over to Turi, who had sank onto the ground. "I don't mean to be rude, but I've won."

Turi didn't respond. Slowly, very slowly, she took out her purse and wordlessly handed Anzu the money. Anzu accepted the five hundred dollars. She sifted through it, to make sure it was all there. It was.

Then, Anzu took two fifties out of the pile. She turned around and locked eyes with the blonde girl who had danced against Turi earlier. With her index finger, Anzu beckoned her. The crowd was dead silent. You could hear a pin drop.

Slowly, the girl walked to the front of the crowd. Anzu walked down the steps of the platform and toward the girl. Her footsteps clicked and echoed in the quiet food court. She stopped in front of the girl.

"What's your name?" Anzu asked softly.

"Fuu," the girl answered shyly.

"Fuu, take this money. It's yours. Spend it usefully," Anzu said.

Fuu nodded and accepted the money. With a pat on the shoulder, Anzu walked back up onto the platform. Turi looked away, not meeting Anzu's eyes. Anzu bent down, took Turi's hand, and pressed the remaining four hundred dollars on it. "And same goes for you." And with that, Anzu stepped off the platform, walking over to the gawking Mai and Serenity. She jerked her head toward the exit. They understood immediately, and began to follow her through the suddenly whispering crowd.

"What's your name?" Turi finally called after her.

"Anonymous," Anzu called back, and they were out of the crowd, out of the doors. "You didn't need to make it so dramatic, you know," Mai murmured.

"What? And miss out on all that fun? Mai, you know me better than that." They all laughed, and Serenity said, "C'mon guys. We've got a get-together to get ready for!"

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Kaiba closed his eyes, calming himself. He leaned back on the luxurious limo seat. That Mazaki was getting **really** annoying. Maybe if he hadn't dived into the road with her yesterday, all this bad luck wouldn't have occurred. But it was instinct, and he reacted before thinking.

Why did she _have_ to keep popping up?He had been peacefully walking out of one of the arcade meeting rooms after an appointment with the arcade manager about adding dueling stations to the arcade. Right when he walked out(with two bodyguard/butler people following), he had noticed the crowd gathering around the DDR Freestyle machine. Curious, Kaiba had walked to the edge of the crowd.

Only to see **_her_** again.

But she was so... beautiful... so much grace... Kaiba couldn't help but spare just a moment to watch her. A moment turned into ten minutes. Her dance was so... so _perfect_._ An angel that had descended from heaven..._

**_Whoooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaa there._** Those words shouldn't even be in his vocabulary. The whole thought was **way** out of bounds. Kaiba began to reword the whole thought.

I saw her. She was dancing. I gave her a brief look. I left, never to see nor think about her ever again. End of story.

Kaiba ended that thought and snapped open his laptop. He had work to do. And he wouldn't-couldn't- let something- especially girls, The **_Cheerleader_** of all girls- get in the way. With that, Kaiba concentrated on his work. Surprisingly, he could.

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Yugi couldn't move. He stood there in his house's doorway, mouth ajar, staring at a blushing Anzu. She pouted. "Aren't you going to say hi?"

"Huh, huh, huh, huh-eye," Yugi sputtered, oblivious to the giggling Serenity and disapproved Mai in the background. "Can't accept this," Mai murmured to herself. "Anzu belongs to and only to S-" She was immediately clobbered by Anzu, who had a huge red pulse on her head. "Don't you dare-"

"Yugi? Who's that at the door? Are they here alre- oh my god." Duke Devlin stopped, and his mouth dropped open. "Oh, not you, too," Anzu laughed, untangling herself from Mai.

"Wha' happened?" Joey asked as he ran and slid into the entrance hall on his socks, with Tristan close behind. Their eyes both bulged out, and they stared shamelessly at Anzu. :utter silence:

"**ANZUUU!**" they shouted suddenly, and tackled her. "Can't... breathe..." she gasped, and Joey and Tristan got off of her, laughing as they helped her up,off of the wooden floors. "Told ja' she wuz go'-geous," Joey whispered to Tristan. "I didn't deny y- Oh, heh heh, hello Mai," Tristan said loudly, obviously to alert Joey. Joey jumped ten feet in the air, and also saw Mai. "H-hey Mai!" he said weakly, cowering under Mai's death glare.

Ryou and Yami(who now had a separate body and was Yugi's brother by law) also joined the scene. Ryou almost died at the sight of Anzu. But recovered quickly. Only Yami didn't overreact over Anzu's new look. She saw his eyes widen, but that was it. Anzu inwardly sighed. She had never really gotten over her crush on Yami. Oh well. At least he had given Anzu one of his rare smiles.

After all the excitement died down, Anzu was dragged to the Moto's living room. It was the same as always- same decorations, same furniture. The only difference was that balloons and streamers decorated the wall, and cartons of pizza were stacked on the kitchen table. Beer cans were scattered around the living room too. The TV was on ESPN football.

"Where's Grandpa?" Anzu asked, frowning. "Oh, he went out an hour ago to play billiards with some old friends. He told me to tell you sorry that he couldn't come."

Anzu looked a little disappointed. "Oh, it's ok, I'll just see him tomorrow or something," she replied. Yugi, Yami, Anzu and Serenity sat down on the big white couch while Mai sat in a recliner. Duke, Ryou, Joey and Tristan sat on the carpet in front of the couch, eyes glued to the TV, beer cans in hand.

As soon as everyone settled down, Anzu got up. "I'm going to get something else besides beer to drink," she announced, giving Mai a look that clearly told her to follow. "Anyone else want anything?"

"Some punch, please," Serenity replied, smiling. Tristan and Joey said simultaneously, "More beer." Mai got up, and said, "I'll help you get all that, hon."

When Anzu and Mai were in the kitchen and out of earshot, Mai said, "What was it that you wanted to say?" Anzu turned around to face Mai and crossed her arms. "Don't you dare tell them that I'm with Kaiba, or any nonsense like that," she said sternly.

"Ok, I won't," Mai answered, "But they'll probably figure out by themselves, anyway. They probably watched the news yesterday."

Anzu sighed, exasperated. " I am **not** with Kaiba, so stop talking like I am!"

"Whatever. But I can bet you that they know about the cat act. Unless they've been sitting under a rock."

Anzu hoped so. "Maybe they did."

Then Mai thought up an idea. "Say... Anzu, how much do you bet?" she said slyly. Anzu looked puzzled. "Bet what?" "Bet that they don't know about the cat act, dummy," Mai answered. "How about we make a deal? If, by the end of tonight, they don't show any signs of knowledge that they know about the cat act, I'll leave you alone about you and Kaiba."

Anzu thought about this for a second. "And what if they do know?" She said slowly. "Then you do a favor for me." This sounded too suspicious. "What kind of favor?" She asked. Mai put on the most innocent expression she could muster. "Oh, nothing outrageous. It's within reason, don't worry," she added.

Anzu pondered over this. She knew Mai- she wouldn't make Anzu do anything humiliating, or something completely against Anzu's will. It'd be safe. "...Ok," she said hesitantly. "You're on."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As they watched TV, the gang talked on about work, old times, and other whatnot. Anzu was careful to bend around the topic of Kaiba. From the conversations, Anzu was caught up with all the changes that had happened over these years.

Yugi, Yami and Jou were now professional duelists that traveled all over the world for competitions. Tristan was a soccer professional on the Domino's famous soccer team. Ryou had taken up a quiet job as an archaeologist to study more about Egypt. Duke was now CEO of Dungeon Dice Co., a game-turned-small-company.

A couple hours passed. Everyone else didn't notice it, but there was a bit of a tension in the air around Anzu and Mai. Eventually, Duke had taken up teaching Ryou his new version of Dungeon Dice Monsters that was going to be released in half a year. Yami had gone to the backyard for some fresh air.

"Uh... ya gonna eat dat, Anzu?" Joey asked tentatively, indicating the piece of half-eaten pizza lying temptingly(to him, anyway) on the paper plate. "Nah, anyone can have it," Anzu replied. She was stuffed, after eating three slices of deep-dish pizza. "Aw, danks!" Joey said happily, and lifted it up with haste-

-To be snatched by Tristan, who took a teeny bite. "Hey, what are ya doin'?" Joey screamed, yanking the pizza from him. "Dis is **_my_** pizza! Go get your own!" He took a huge bite. "But there's none left!" Tristan whined. Joey took no notice. "Grrr..." Tristan snatched the pizza away.

"Ey! I said _watch it_!"

"You watch it!"

"Dat's mine!"

"But you ate nine pieces and I only had eight:munching noise:"

"**_EY!_**"

Anzu giggled and leaned back on the couch, closing her eyes. It was the perfect moment, just like it was back in the high school days... almost all of her close companions around her, having a good time... the TV in the background... Joey and Tristan arguing over pizza...

"Anzu," Yugi said softly. Anzu opened her eyes. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," Yugi answered, blushing. "I just thought that you might have dozed off or something.

"No... I was just thinking about how familiar this scene is... Just like the old times.. Almost everyone from Battle City's here."

"You say almost," Serenity noted.

"Well, yeah... I mean, Malik, Isis, and Odion aren't here. And Mokuba..." Anzu trailed off. Shoot. She knew where this was going.

And everything began to go downhill for Anzu from there.

" And his big brother, Seto Kaiba," Mai said, enunciating each articulate syllable with particular stress. Anzu gave Mai a glare that sent daggers and clearly said, "Don't you _dare_."

Um, a bit too late, though. Yugi visibly brightened at the name. "Oh, what was that on the new yesterday about you and Kaiba?" he asked innocently. "I didn't pay too much attention, considering that you're always on TV... I only saw a little bit. I think it was a video. It showed you holding a cat, and a man was around you. I didn't see his face, though. Hmm... but the headline said that _Kaiba_ had to do with it... Funny, I don't see how..." Yugi paused for a second. He seemed to shrug off the thought. Anzu exhaled. That was _too_ close.

And all in the span of four seconds, Yugi's face became puzzled again... and(Anzu could almost see the gears whirring in his head) he suddenly put two and two together. "Kaiba... the man... the video... that... it... it... **him!**" he suddenly exclaimed.

"**HA!**" Mai suddenly burst in triumph, jumping off the recliner and back onto it. "**I WIIIIIIIIIINNNNN!** I am now the proud owner of your Fate with-"

"**What is going on?**" Yami exclaimed. He had just walked back in from outside, and was staring at each bewildering scene- Yugi gagging on the couch, Anzu with her face in her hands, _Mai jumping on the recliner_. Ding! Four seconds up.

Yami looked back at Anzu, but she was nowhere to be seen He then saw her in the kitchen doorway with Mai in tow. "Um, I'd like to talk to Mai privately for a second," she said sweetly. Slam! The door closed.

Anzu turned around and gave Mai a smoldering glare that could set off smoke detectors. Mai smiled sweetly back, mimicking the smile Anzu had given Yami. "If you forgot, I'll remind you. We had a little bet earlier, and I'd like to claim my prize."

Anzu kind of deflated. All the fight seemed to go out of her. "Very well," she sighed. "What do you want?"

"Oh, not much," Mai said innocently, twirling her finger in her long, blonde curls. "Just a little business appointment with Kaiba. I have a few proposals to make."

Anzu glared suspiciously at Mai. "None of which have to do with hooking me up with him?"

Mai silently cursed. Anzu really was suspicious of Mai. She'd have to be more careful. "Of course not!" Mai said, waving the idea away. "I'd **never** do _anything_ like that."

"Says the matchmaker," Anzu grumbled. "And what exactly do I have to do?"

"Set up the meeting, of course!" Mai exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Whaaaaat?" Anzu simply gawked at the idea. "No way no way no way!" The idea of sitting down with Kaiba and proposing to him to have a meeting with her friend... she'd be at his complete mercy- Kaiba would have control over whether to accept the idea... or crush it, thus humiliating her. No way.

But Mai gave her another sly smile. "But we had a bet, Anzu," she replied.

Anzu groaned. This was horrible. Absolutely horrible. But she wasn't one to break promises. Or leave anything undone, for that matter. With a sigh, she slowly said, "Consider yourself booked."

"Wonderful!" Mai exclaimed. "When do you start work?"

Another sigh. "In two days. I'll have a meeting nailed by the end of the week."

"Great. And not that I doubt you or anything, but if you don't, I'll just give you a replacement task for this bet," Mai replied.

There was a knock on the kitchen door. "You guys done?" Yami's voice asked.

"Yeah. We were just about to come out," Anzu said, opening the door. She gave a quick glance to Yugi that said everything: Nothing happened yesterday. Don't talk about it to anyone. Yugi understood everything from the look in her eyes. He nodded. "Awesome!" he said aloud. "Now we can start the duel between Joey and me!"

"Why would you need us for that?" Mai asked, puzzled.

"Oh, no," Yugi replied."I just wanted to make sure you guys weren't locked in there or something."

"Even if we were, we could get out. I have a knack for picking locks, you know," Anzu answered, rolling her eyes. "Learned how in the States." They all laughed. As everyone sat down again, Mai caught Anzu's eye. "Remember, you've got a week," she mouthed. Anzu gave a slight nod and inwardly groaned. What had she gotten herself into?

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Woot! Finally got that chappie finished. It was **long**. :sigh: I'm glad I got _that_ done... Sorry for all the cheesy melodrama in the dance battle, though. I couldn't resist myself; I've had the idea of the DDR Freestyle Machine for a long time now.

Sorry for writing so many boring details about the characters' clothing and stuff. I'm a very visual person, and whenever I write/imagine a story or scene, I _have_ to know what the people are wearing. It drives me crazy.

Hmmm... I have the next chapter kind of laid out. It'll have to do with work, and seeing Kaiba. Obviously. But more often than you think. Note: This is not a kaibaxmai pairing!

Again, thank you so much to my awesome reviewers out there, and those secret people that only read. I love all of you! I'll try my hardest to update soon!

Bai Bai

Now and Forever,

Ambiance-Dream


	4. Work

Author's Note: Seriously, thank you SO much for the great reviews for last chapter! Seriously, I'm really surprised at how many reviews I'm getting for this story. 35 for only 3 chapters... Wow.

**Mischiefmagnet**: Too true, too true. I couldn't word it better. But I don't know if my story will live up to your expectations. I'm a horrible writer. You're too nice. Go long chapters! **Gauri92**: Seriously, you flatter me! **obsessedwanime**: Thank you! Um... I really didn't need to know what a lemon was... But I'm the one who asked. **Amberblood**: Thanks for the compliment! I thought up of "Ambiance-Dream" in like, two seconds, because I originally wanted Ambiance-Light or something, but it was taken. Yeah, school is actually taking more time than I expected. And I'm only in eight grade! **seguha**: Thanks! And no problem(about the review). Your story was really good. **KeikoGurl**: Hee hee... Yeah, Kaiba's obviously in denial... I'll make sure to change his mind. **Can't-Think-of-A-Good-Name-So-This-Will-Do**: Cool pen-name! Um... what does IC mean? I don't know _anything_. **Kagome1316**: I'm glad you enjoyed it! **KaibaYamiLover**: Ok! I'll try to update more often! **Crystallyne**: Thank you!

Sorry so much about not updating in so long! I'm really busy. So for the long wait, I'm awarding you guys with a not-too-short chapter!

-.- I feel guilty about writing such a long author's note last chapter. I know you guys just want to get on with the story and don't want to listen to my whining...

Please be patient with me. I'm not a very good writer... Sorry again. :bows:

Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. Or eBay. Isn't it kind of obvious?**

**Anywhere But Here**

**Chapter 4: Work**

Anzu nervously twirled her finger through her long locks of hair as she waited for the elevator to stop at the ninth level. It was her first day of work at Domino City. Her first day of work at KaibaCorp.

KaibaCorp. _Kaiba._ Ooh, Anzu just **hated** that man. He was the reason of endless teasing from Mai. It had only been two days since the get together with the gang, yet Mai had been pestering Anzu enough times to last a year. The pestering media hadn't helped, either. They followed her as often as they could, asking her for interviews, and giving them on the spot. Anzu had previously thought that Kaiba wasn't that bad, but after two agonizing days of Mai and media, she now thought differently.

Anzu glared at the picture of Kaiba that was on one of the walls of the elevator. It was a black and white photo of Kaiba working in his office. She walked up to it and pretended to hit Kaiba's unsmiling face with the bottom of her fist. "Jerk," she whispered at the picture. "That's what you are. And a bad omen. Yes, the Seto-Kaiba-Curse-of-Eight-Years. Nothing but-"

Her voice died away as she felt a pair of eyes giving her an ice-shattering glare. The doors of the elevator had quietly opened, and standing there was... well, I don't need to tell you.

Anzu slowly lowered her fist and meekly turned around. Blue eyes clashed with blue.

"What. Are. You. Doing. Here," Kaiba said icily through gritted teeth. Anzu could see his jaw clenching and un-clenching. In an annoyingly cheerful voice, she tried to jam as much irritation into a three word reply: "I work here."

Kaiba's expression got even colder and he swiftly walked in, pushing the level twenty button forcefully.

And alas, our two protagonists were in the same position as four days ago.

* * *

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Anzu quickly walked out, obviously glad to be rid of Kaiba. Kaiba himself exhaled, and quickly clicked the "Close Door" button.

Soon, the elevator doors opened again, and Kaiba walked into a little corridor. This small, circular room was very elegant- exquisite dragon carvings decorated the walls. The room had four doors- the elevator from the lower levels; an elevator that went up to the private levels twenty-one(the airplane equipment level) and twenty-two/roof(the airplane "helipad"/runway); a computer room; and Kaiba's huge office. Kaiba went to the latter one, and swiped his ID car. "Seto Kaiba. Recognition... security... activated," a voice said, and the retina scanner turned on, and scanned Kaiba's eye. "Identification approved. Access to office given." The double doors made a small click as they unlocked. Kaiba stormed in.

He took off his purple coat, and sat down at his desk. He immediately turned on his computer to look up the new people working in, for, or with his company. Sure enough, Mazaki's name was listed. Apparently, she was basically KaibaCorp's new poster-girl.

Poster-girl. _Poster-girl._ Since when did KaibaCorp have **_poster-girls?_** Kaiba immediately grabbed the phone and jammed in some numbers. "Takigawa speaking," a young man's voice answered. "Takigawa, since when did I approve you of hiring Mazaki!" he snarled. "When I hired you as the public appearances manager, I didn't expect you to be making contracts with people to flaunt all over KaibaCorp's ads and commercials/ Cancel the contract now."

"I-I'm sorry, Mr Kaiba, but it's already been signed and documented. Miss Mazaki has already come today for work, and her staff is already set up and everything," Mr Takigawa's hesitant voice replied.

Kaiba swore in six languages. He paused for a moment. "How long does the contract last?" he finally growled. "One year," was Takigawa's reply. Kaiba gritted his teeth. "You better give me an explanation on why you hired her in the next ten seconds is you want to keep your job."

"S-s-sir, we had noticed a significant drop in sales for KaibaCorp's popularity in females, s-so we decided to hire Miss Mazaki to boost that popularity. She seemed to be perfect for the job- she's beautiful, famous, and probably the most popular and favorite celebrity of many people all over the world. She's a rising star, and girls absolutely love her. There is also a well-known fact that she's best friends with the professional duelist, Yugi and Yami Moto, and Joey Wheeler. It is also known that Miss Mazaki used to play Du3el Monsters for fun in high school, and was quite a good duelist.:

Kaiba thought hard for a moment. It was true; sales for female customers had taken a small dip. He could think of no other solution for this problem at the moment, though. Takigawa's plan seemed fool-proof, and had already taken action. As powerful as he was, the young CEO had no way to stop this contract.

At last, he growled, "At least make use of her. Don't make her do anything ridiculous that will ruin my company's image." He slammed the phone back down.

* * *

Anzu nervously went down the long hallway, counting down the room numbers. "920... 922... 924... 926... 928." This should be the room she was supposed to enter. Sure enough, there was a little plaque that said, "Mr Takigawa. Public Appearances Manager." Anzu took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Mr Takigawa said. Anzu opened the door and walked in. There were four people in the room- Mr Takigawa, another young man(Anzu guessed he was about 20 years old), a woman who looked to be in her thirties, and a woman who seemed to be Anzu's age.

"Mr Takigawa," she said and bowed in greeting. The other four people did the same. Mr Takigawa laughed, and said," Now, Miss Mazaki, you don't need to call me that anymore. I'm just Ken."

"And I'm just Anzu," she replied, smiling. Ken introduced the other three people. The middle-aged woman, who had long, black hair, was Hiroko Konishi, Anzu's new KaibaCorp modeling manager. The other two, Luke Egusa and Itoe Niimi, were Anzu's personal staff/advisor's.

"Wow, I actually have personal staff?" she asked, surprised. "That's nice."

Itoe, who had brown eyes and hair tied to the right side of her head, pushed forward, her eyes shining. "We promise to be the very best staff to you, Miss-er, Anzu," she said earnestly. She was shoved to the side by Luke, who had blond , spiky hair. "Nice to meet you!" he exclaimed, visibly shaking as he flourished a deep bow. "mylittlesister'sahugefanofyouandshewantedmetogivethistoyou!Shealsoaskedmetoaskyouforyourautograph!" He shoved a little wrapped box, a piece of cute stationary, and a pen into Anzu's hands. "Agh!" Luke was pulled back by Hiroko, who sweatdropped. "Sorry for his behavior," she apologized coolly. "They're awestruck by your presence."

Anzu relaxed, and giggled. She was beginning to really like her staff. "Oh, that's ok," she replied. "I'm used to it. But it baffles me every time. Everyone treats me like I'm something above human, which I'm definitely not. It's totally unnecessary." She turned to face Luke and Itoe. "Now, since you're both my personal staff, you have to listen to what I say, right?" she said sternly. They nodded their heads. "Ok, so here's my first order. Don't feel or be restrained from giving me your opinions and ideas. If you disagree with me, tell me. Treat me like an equal. I'm not perfect." Surprised, the other two nodded their heads. Anzu smiled and turned to Hiroko. "And that goes for you, too. But being the professional that you are, I bet you already knew that." Hiroko smiled, and said, "True. Now, let's get a tour of this area!"

* * *

"I like this place," Anzu decided as she, Hiroko, Luke, and Itoe sat down in the modeling lounge. Ken had left them because he had work to do. The geography of the modeling area was awesome. There were three huge, main rooms and small, multiple ones branching out of each one. The first was a large lounge, which Anzu and the others were currently in. Many offices branched out of this room, including Anzu's(yes, she has her own office). The second large room was curtained into three sections- one section for shooting pictures, one for motion pictures(such as commercials), and one for clothing and make-up. The last main room was the largest0 it was full of offices, cubicles, and other rooms for management of publicity, etc. etc. etc.

"I can't wait to start working here," she continued. "When _do_ we start?"

"Well," Hiroko replied, "I was personally thinking about starting off your contract kind of gradually. It' pretty big news that you're modeling for KaibaCorp, and we don't want a big, economic boom- it should grow steadily. So we should start off with maybe a couple small ads, and then eventually do commercials and other larger things later on."

"That's a good idea," Anzu replied. "But should we begin before or after the release of the latest duel disc? It's going to be a big hit, I've heard."

"I think we should begin after," Itoe piped up. "The anticipation of the duel disc should be enough for now; we should time are 'surprises'-like new stuff- so that they happen one by one. It lures more customers."

"Hmmm..." I agree," Anzu said. "And anyways, the duel disc is coming out in a few days, and that wouldn't be enough time to make an ad."

"You'd be surprised to see how fast we can get work done," Itoe replied, smiling.

Hiroko tapped a pen on her lip, and said thoughtfully, "Luke, when can we have a photo shoot?"

Luke automatically took out his agenda. "The soonest is tomorrow, but that's only half an hour, from 4:00- 4:30, including th e preparation time."

"How about after that?" Hiroko asked.

"We're free in three days, on Thursday, July 14th. We have three hours, from 6:45 to 9:55 PM. Plenty of time. But one of the cameramen is off that day." Luke looked up. "I can take that spot, if need be. It's minor."

Hiroko nodded, and said, "Ok, book a photo shoot for that time, then. Are you free, Anzu?"

Anzu nodded her head, and replied, "I'm free all week."

"Then that's settled," Hiroko confirmed. "Your first photo shoot will be on Thursday."

* * *

_Three days later: Thursday, July 14th_

"Done." Kaiba popped the CD out of his office computer's CD drive. He leaned back on his huge swivel chair, letting the disc spin around his index finger.

This little CD could probably be sold on eBay or something for thousands, maybe even millions. It contained all the information on the new duel disc. True, other computers in the building did, too, but they didn't also have the top _secret_ information about the new device. And yes, there was top secret information about the new duel disc.

Kaiba gave the infamous Kaiba-smirk. Everything was going well. Everything except for the female-popularity thing, but that was minor. Anyways, Mr Takigawa said he had taken care of it...

"Damn." Mazaki. That annoying girl was really getting in the way. Not only of his company, but of his mind. He hadn't exactly been obsessively thinking about her(he didn't have a reason to), but every time his mind wandered... Good God.

He needed to keep his mind busy and occupied. Kaiba placed the disc into a black case and put it by his computer. He got up, put on his trench coat, and walked out of his office. Soon, he was on a limo, off to somewhere to drink.

* * *

"Ok, see you guys tomorrow!" Anzu cheerfully exclaimed, waving back at Hiroko, Luke and Itoe. She walked briskly into the night,-

-To be met by a crowd of reporters. "Miss Mazaki, now that you've been back to Domino for a week, have you settled down enough to forward your relationship with Mr Kaiba?" "Miss, it is a known fact that your favorite food is ice cream. What's your favorite flavor?" "Miss Mazaki, it is rumored that you and Mr Kaiba are old high school friends. Did you have a past relationship with him then?"

Anzu rolled her eyes at the camera and pushed her way through the crowd, ignoring the roar of clicking cameras and news reporters. The limo was parked right in front of her(on the road), and the chauffeur(Ron) ushered her in. Anzu quickly closed the door and soon the limo was off, leaving the crowd behind.

"Ok, let's go to my place. I want to go to the club in half an hours, so you can park in front or circle around. After that, your work for today will be done. Thanks!" Anzu leaned back and closed her eyes, listening to music that had turned on in the background.

Soon, the limo came to a halt, and Anzu got out. She thanked the chauffeur again and went into the Suites and into her penthouse to change. The sooner she got to the club, the better/ Anzu hadn't gone to one in weeks, and she was itching to dance.

* * *

"The Ice Crown" was definitely no ordinary dance club. It had a reputation of being the best- not one of the best, _the_ best- club in all of Japan. Everyone who had ever gone there agreed that it lived up to this claim. The club took up a huge building that took up a whole block with three floors in downtown Domino. There was a huge bar on the first floor, and a dance floor filled up the rest of it. The rest of the levels were also very big, and opened up in the center to look into the first floor.

The club was famous for its "Dark Rain"- from 12:00 to 2:00 AM every Friday night, the ceiling of the third floor would **rain**. There were huge pipes on the ceiling that rained hot and cold droplets of water continuously. It made everything very _intense_...

Of course, this kind of service did not come cheap. The entry price was staggering, and only the wealthy and famous could actually afford to go inside. However, if one was a member(as Anzu is), there was no entry fee, but a periodical bill-thing to pay in advance. Not that it actually saved any money.

Even though the limo was two blocks away and Anzu had her eyes closed, she could tell they had almost arrived. The loud music was _rumbling_ through her body, and the bright lights of the entrance flashed behind her eyelids.

Anzu opened her eyes, and said to Ron, "Stop at the entrance as usual, please. I don't want anyone to attack me."

She was about to get out, when the chauffeur said in a concerned voice, "Miss Mazaki? How will you get home? Usually I drive you back."

Anzu smiled. "Oh, Ron, you're always so caring. What would I do without you?" Ron blushed. "Now, don't you worry," she continued. "I'll probably be coming home later than usual, since I haven't been to this club in a while. When I do go back, though, there won't be as many people out, so I'm planning to walk home. After all, it's only, like, flour blocks away." She smiled fondly at her chauffeur/friend. "But thanks for caring. I'll see you tomorrow, 'k?" Ron nodded. Anzu got out of the car, and practically ran into the building to avoid the stalking media.

The loud club music greeted her as she entered into the entrance room. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the dark Two huge, muscular men stood in front of the huge, black-ironed double doors that led to the club. The "Guards", who recognized Anzu immediately, gave a curt nod and let her inside.

The music got even louder, pumping in her ears. Anzu adjusted her short skirt (A/N: I know, she's obsessed with skirts) and the red top she was wearing. It went over a tight, black shirt that stopped three inches below her chest. The red top was a bit longer, and was connected only at the top, revealing the black shirt. Her outfit wasn't exactly revealing, but showed a considerable amount of skin. But you couldn't blame her- the place was **hot**, even if the "normal" temperature of the place(without people) was actually pretty cold, hence one reason the club was called "The Ice Crown".

Anzu let her body lead her to the dance floor. The silver, blue and black walls and decorations faded away from her eyesight; the people around her blurred into a pastel of gold and brown. There was nothing but the music and her. She let the music consume her...

She was not Anzu Mazaki. She was _water_, with fluid grace and breathtaking beauty. She was _fire_, sparking with energy and life. She was _wind_, never stopping, expanding her limits...

But did she even have limits?

No.

_...So much freedom... the only thing to restrain you is yourself..._

* * *

"One more." Kaiba accepted another bottle of hard alcohol(A/N: Um... I know _nothing_ about clubs and alcohol, so bear with my ignorance -.-) He downed it as if it were water.

_You should really stop,_ Kaiba's conscience said in a whiny tone. "No." Kaiba downed another bottle. Why was he doing this? _You're going to get drunk,_ the conscience said in the same tone, but a it more smugly.

"Seto Kaiba does not get drunk." He then said aloud, "One more." He was about to raise the bottle to his lips when his eyes suddenly involuntarily zoned in and focused on something. Someone. The Cheerleader. **She was here.** _The water goddess._

Oh God. Maybe he really had drunk one too many bottles. Kaiba had decided this morning that Mazaki was nothing. _Nothing._ He hadn't though once of her that day. Not once. Not once. Not _once..._

There was definitely something wrong with him. Through his now unfocused eyes, he saw Mazaki walking towards. No. No. But she _was_ walking toward... him. She really was.

_Coherent thoughts, Kaibbie! Coherent thoughts!_ his conscience screamed. "K-Kaibbie?" he growled aloud. "Don't... don't you _dare_ call me that, Con... Conscie."

Kaiba's eyes widened at the thought he had just thought. **Conscie?** **_Conscie?_**

He needed to get out of here. Now. **Now.** Mazaki was now a foot away from him. All Kaiba could do was stupidly stare at her chest.

God. _God._ **God.** He teared his eyes away. Must get away. Away from here. Away from _her_. "I hope she can't tell I'm drunk," he managed to think.

* * *

"He's definitely drunk," Anzu thought as she studied Kaiba. She had been dancing , when amongst the crowds she laid eyes on two ice blue ones. It was odd. Her body had led her toward Kaiba... Yet Anzu's mind was calm and clear. She could think. She was in control.

Kaiba was hot, even though he was drunk. (Anzu ignored this stray thought.) His azure eyes were cold, yet glazed. In his hand was a bottle. He was wearing a darkish-silverish-blue shirt with a few top buttons undone, and black pants. He had stared bleakly at her chest for a few seconds(it was at his eye level), and then had looked away. She thought she heard him mutter the word "Kaibbie".

"A-are you ok?" Anzu asked him.

Kaiba automatically responded, "I'm fine" and got up to leave, putting his forgotten beer bottle on the counter. He stood up, but half-fell forward, in Anzu's direction.

Anzu was too surprised to move at first. His body slammed into hers... Her hands flew up, only to cling to his back. She could feel his warm breath on her neck...

Hastily, she pushed him back, and made him sit on the bar stool. She had to think fast. Even if Kaiba was _Kaiba_, she had to help him. He obviously couldn't stay here longer, so she had to get him somewhere else. Limo! But no... Ron was gone for the rest of the night... Maybe Kaiba had a limo. Wait, of course he did! But how to contact the chauffeur? Anzu could only think of one way.

With a deep breath, she took a step toward the drunk Kaiba and slipped her hand into her pocket, searching for a cellphone or handheld. Nothing. She checked the other pocket. Out came a cellphone. "I'm really sorry for intruding your privacy, Kaiba, but this is an emergency." The dazed Kaiba didn't respond. Anzu flipped open the cellphone. It was currently off. She turned it on, and the word "Password?" popped up. Anzu groaned. The code was made up of eight digits... There were a gazillion possibilities. "Shoot." Stuffing the cellphone back into the unaware Kaiba, Anzu tried to think of another idea. Call the police? Definitely not. Tell the bartender? No, he'd tell the media. It was best not to tell anyone- Anzu didn't want any unwanted rumors spreading around.

And suddenly, out of absolutely nowhere, Anzu was struck with a very scary but brilliant idea. She froze. No. _No._

But was there any other choice? Obviously not. She had to do this. She had to bring Kaiba to her _home_.

"You. Owe. Me," she muttered through clenched teeth. Kaiba didn't respond. Anzu raised an eyebrow. Was he unconscious or something? With a heavy sigh she skimmed through the plan.

Anzu's Thoughts+

Chibi Anzu and Chibi Kaiba make a beeline out of the entrance door. Here, Chibi's sprint across the crosswalk and take shortcut to Rosewood Suites. Chibi Anzu and Chibi Kaiba walk into the Suites, and into elevator. Up goes elevator. Out comes Chibi's. Chibi Anzu opens door, puts Chibi Kaia in guest bed. Chibi Anzu goes to bed.

End Anzu's Thoughts+

"Ok! Now my plan shall go to work!" Anzu exclaimed, determined. She inhaled, and then heaved Kaiba up. Putting one of his arms over her shoulder, she shuffled forward, dragging Kaiba with her Kaiba let out a moan. Anzu froze, feeling chills all over her body. "Concentrate, Anzu! Concentrate!" she told herself. They shuffled forward, advancing a couple feet. Anzu was very glad that they were out of the dance lights- it was dark, so no one could see them. The crowds were only getting bigger, though, and it was only midnight.

The couple shuffled/staggered across the club's first floor, toward the entrance, barely managing to not accidentally bump into anyone. Anzu was blushing the whole time- she knew what the onlookers were thinking- two drunk young adults, leaving the club in the middle of the night, going off to have a good time... Again, Anzu was glad that the darkness of the club covered their faces.

They managed to get to the entrance doors of the club. She looked outside. It was anything but deserted. Oh well. She'd survive.

Anzu sighed and pushed open the door with her left hand, her right one supporting the still-drunk Kaiba. This was going to be a long night.

----------------------------------------------1:04 AM--------------------------------------------------

Anzu fumbled with her keys, breathing heavily. Kaiba and she were leaning on her front door, with Kaiba behind and facing Anzu's back. The house key went in, and the door flew open. "EEP!" She tumbled in, and Kaiba fell on top of her.

As Anzu regained her senses, her eyes grew large with horror as she saw their position. The door had swung closed, leaving them in complete darkness. Kaiba's nose and mouth were pressed on her neck. She could feel his breath. One of his hands was on her right arm, and his other hand was... somewhere in her body.

"I will not swear," Anzu fumed. "I will not swear I will not swear I will not swear I will not swear I will not." She swallowed hard, then gently pushed Kaiba away. She was now in sitting position. Anzu reached over Kaiba, opened the door, and pulled out the key, and put it in her purse. Hastily sitting back down, she looked at their position again. Finally, she slid out from under Kaiba, and half-lifted him. She was able to get him up with obvious difficulty. Shuffle shuffle shuffle.

Soon, Anzu managed to shove Kaiba into the guest bed. She went to her room and turned on the lights, blinking at their sudden brightness. She went to her desk and sat down. Anzu took out a few pieces of cute stationary, and wrote notes on them She then put one in the guest-room/Kaiba's room, and a couple elsewhere. When she finished this, Anzu then really realized how exhausted she was. Dragging a semi-unconscious CEO through town is not easy work. Anzu shuffled to her room and collapsed on her bed. She was asleep before she hit the mattress.

* * *

YES! Got that finished! Finally. Another long chapter. Kind of. :P

So! Anzu brought someone home tonight. Hee hee. I'm being so mean to her, and she's my favorite character! . Wow, a drunk Kaiba... lol You guys have no _idea_ how much **fun** I had writing that scene.

FYI, no, I did not forget about Mai's meeting with Kaiba. That will be featured in the next chapter.

Speaking of the next chapter! It's going to have to do with work... again. This one's going to probably take a long time to write, but it won't necessarily be long. I only have like, a fourth of it planned out. After that, it's blank.

Ok, now that I'm done with the fourth chapter, I realized that in this story, times and dates are quite important. So here's a little timeline of what has happened in our little story...

**Thursday, July 7th** Anzu arrives in Domino(at night).

**Friday, July 8th** Anzu goes to meeting; Cat Act!; Kaiba sees Anzu in Rosewood Park. (Ch 1-2)

**Saturday, July 9th** Anzu shops with Mai and Serenity; get-together with the gang(Ch 3)

**Monday, July 11th** Anzu's first day of work(Ch 4)

**Thursday, July 14th** Anzu's Photo Shoot; Club Scene(Ch 4)

And the duel disk is scheduled to come out on July 18th. Which just so happens to be my birthday. Gee, what a coincidence.

Yeah, so that's it! Thanks for reading the chapter, and _pleaz_ review! Compliments will be treasure, constructive comments considered, and flames cried over. Thank you again!

Now and Forever,

Ambiance-Dream


	5. Stuck

Author's Note: Hi everyone! I am **finally** back with Ch. 5. Sorry for the very long wait. Like I said in the AN for Ch. 3, I'm very busy. So yeah.

This chapter has to do with work, work, work. Sorry... I want to change the atmosphere and have scenes elsewhere, but I can't really think of any actual scenes. -.- Feel free to drop in an idea.

Oh, and sorry(again!) to anyone(everyone) who was anticipating a huge morning scene when Kaiba wakes up. In my opinion, there's nothing of the such. Sorry for the disappointment.

Review replies will be featured at the end of the chapter this time, so check there. Thanx to all you wonderful reviewers out there! This story is dedicated to you guys!

Some of you may notice that the beginning of this chapter is a bit... I dunno... dazed. Hazy. It's supposed to be that way, ok? Just so you know.

Oh, and by the way, I updated my bio page, so you guys can check there if you haven't already. I'll be having a little "Sneak Peek" thing for the next chapter... Ooh, like a movie trailer! Hee hee...

I hope you all enjoy Chappie 5!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh. But I do own this computer. Actually, no, I don't... Wait, yes I do!... Hm... Do I?... :sweatdrops:**

**Anywhere But Here**

**Chapter 5: Stuck**

He knew there something wrong. The air, the light, the _vibes_ that the atmosphere gave off.

Without opening his eyes, Kaiba stirred a bit, slightly moving his arms. He froze. The texture of blanket on him was... fluffy.

Fluffy.

_Fluffy._

Kaiba shot up, and his eyes widened with horror. He was sitting on a fluffy bed. With fluffy pillows. And green, fluffy covers. A white desk with a green lamp. Pale green curtains draped by a huge window, which was letting in lots of sunlight.

Sunlight. Morning sunlight. It was morning? B-but he was just at the bar at "The Ice Crown." _No..._ He couldn't have _slept_ with some-...

Kaiba hastily looked beside him on the big bed. No one. The position of the blankets implied that he was the only one that had ruffled it. Kaiba let out a sigh of relief. Of course he hadn't actually slept with someone... There was no way he would have been crazy enough to do that, or be attracted to a girl- any girl. No one was _worthy_ of him...

And like a stack of books, murky thoughts began to topple into his memory.

---Flashback---

_"A-are you ok?" a blue-eyed brunette asked him_

_He automatically responded, "I'm fine." He got up..._

_A girl was dancing among the blur of the crowds in the club. Her body seemed _fluid_; it bent and curved into impossible positions. Her eyes were half closed, but he could see the vibrant blue beneath each eyelid. She danced in a half trance as if not only her body was dancing, but her soul..._

_He was leaning on someone... He would have fallen, but that someone supported him... They were walking... Kaiba felt his feet moving under him... "Only a bit farther," a tired voice whispered..._

End Flashback+

But who was that mysterious someone? Who was that mysterious dancer? Were they the same person? Was it all a dream?

No... it was real. The thoughts were murky, but they were real. A dancer... he didn't know any dancers... Except for Mazaki, but-

Blue-eyed brunet. Nooo... it could **not** have been her. Kaiba refused to even think about that.

He looked around the room again. No signs of who his host(ess?) was. There were no pictures, but there was a note on the bedside table. A note? Hmm... Kaiba picked it up. It was green and white stationary. "God, even this _note_ matches the room colors," he muttered. He read it.

_Good morning, Kaiba!_

_Um, I know you are probably wondering why you're here, and where you are. I'll explain. Yesterday night, I found you in the "Ice Crown" club... You seemed to be drunk, and passed out in front of me. I couldn't just leave you there, so I brought you to my home. You are now currently in the guest room of my residence._

_Feel free to take a shower... or use any of my appliances; I don't mind. There's food in the fridge- help yourself._

_I hope you feel better! _

_Now and Forever,_

_Anzu Mazaki_

**_ANZU MAZAKI?_ No.** There must be someone else in Domino with that name. Kaiba looked frantically around the note to find some clue, any clue to prove that this person was someone else. But there as nothing else on the letter except for a little chibi drawing of Mazaki. It was actually a tiny bit cute... (AN: Kaiba did not actually think this phrase in his thoughts; he unknowing felt this way.) The little sparkling blue eyes were definitely those of Mazaki... it was definitely her. Kaiba moaned.

He got out of the bed and took a good look of himself in the long mirror on the closet door. He was wearing the same clothing as yesterday, and his shoes were neatly put at the foot of the bed. Beside them was a pair of black house slippers. Kaiba stepped into them; even if he **hated** the owner of this house, he still had manners.

Kaiba gladly hurried out of the guest room and began to explore the house. This guest door led into a little hallway that had three other doors. After opening them, he discovered that the first was a bathroom and the second was a towel closet. The third door led into a study/computer room. Kaiba walked in here.

He had to admit that this room was quite decent. It was decorated with silver, blue and black, and the computers were all very high quality and new. Before he realized what he was doing, Kaiba turned one on. It took a few seconds to load; Kaiba sat down in the swivel chair.

_You really shouldn't be doing this_, the Conscience scolded him. "Mazaki told me to feel free to look around," he sneered. "Not that I need her permission. I don't care about what she says." _Is this revenge for her bringing here?_ Conscience said in an annoying motherly and sympathized tone. "No."

The monitor suddenly changed and a photo of Anzu filled the screen. Automatically Kaiba flinched without knowing he had done so. The picture was not one of the countless photos of Anzu the Model with her shiny chocolate-brown hair in the wind. No, it was Anzu the High Schooler, squeezed between that mutt and some guy... Taylor, was it?... and with that Yugi right below her. Each of them had big, genuine grins plastered on their faces, and their fingers were splayed out in peace signs, Japanese-style. They seemed to have just gotten out of school, because they still wore their school uniforms. Kaiba scrutinized the picture, and noticed that Anzu's left hand(which was in the V-sign). Her long, slender ring finger had a little bandage around it...

---Flashback---

_Finally. It was over. Kaiba's school career had ended... Kaiba's diploma was in his briefcase; he had just gone to the principal's office to personally receive it. At last, he could work at his job more, and school wouldn't get in the way as it had in the past._

_Kaiba walked out of the school's front doors without a look back. Cutting through the huge front lawn/garden of the school, he noticed a girl sitting alone on a stone bench below a wisteria tree._

_Kaiba scoffed. He hoped she wasn't one of the screaming fangirls who threw themselves on him. They were incredibly annoying, though Kaiba just dodged them(and to the floor they crashed)._

_As he neared her, he could see her talking on a pink flip-cellphone out of the corner of his eye. "Sure... I can't see you. You're walking this way? I'm at the bench by the wisteria tree. Where are you? By the bike stands? I still don't... Oh, I see you waving!" She hung up, and immediately stood up. Kaiba saw her face, and scowled. It was that annoying cheerleader. He walked faster._

_She abruptly turned and took a step right into Kaiba, who happened to be crossing the bench at this split-moment. They crashed, and down they went._

_Kaiba could feel every contour and curve of the dancer's body mold perfectly into his. He gasped a little when her weight hit his chest, and inhaled her fresh apple perfume. Her hands were on his arms; he could feel each slender finger grasping his uniform. And her chest was pressed on his. Enough said._

_Mazaki let out a little moan of pain. She pushed herself up into sitting position, while still on Kaiba. Not even bothering to see who her chair was, she worriedly looked at her left ring finger. "Ow..." There was a small gash that had blood gushing freely from it. She picked a piece a glass out of the wound. Forgetting even who she was or what he was doing, Kaiba sat up a little(Mazaki was in his lap) and took her finger. He carefully wiped the blood away from the cut._

_Realizing his position and what he had just done, his personality grew very, very icy. Without warning, he shoved the shocked girl off of him and got up with perfect elegance. "Never cross into the path of a billionaire," he simply growled. "It'll cause problems." He walked off, leaving behind a very confused and speechless Mazaki. "Kaiba..." she murmured disbelievingly, more to herself. "Th-thank you," she called out to him hesitantly. Kaiba kept on walking._

_At this moment, Yugi, Joey and Tristan arrived at the scene. Apparently, they hadn't seen what had happened._

_"Ey, Anzu," Joey happily greeted her. He seemed to notice something. "Why ya lickin yo finger?" he asked in a concerned voice._

_"Hm? Oh, um, no big reason. I got a paper cut earlier, that's all," she hastily replied. "Do any of you have a bandage? Or napkin?"_

_Kaiba heard this all but did not look back. As he stepped into his waiting limo, his words echoed back at him. "Never cross into the path of a billionaire." What had made him say something like that? ...Little did Kaiba know how much Anzu Mazaki would disobey this order._

---End Flashback---

So this picture had been taken on the last day of school. How very Mazaki-like.

A noise made Kaiba snap back to present day. He immediately turned off the computer and stepped out of the room. Silence reigned the penthouse again.

Slowly and deliberately, Kaiba quietly walked out of the hallway and into the living room. It was quite big and designed well. The dining room was auburn and black, and the window showed a wonderful view. The balcony that wound around the whole penthouse also had an outstanding view of Domino and the ocean. All the rooms, Kaiba had to grudgingly admit, were decorated quite well. But he gave the credit to the interior designers, not... her.

Another hallway led out of the living room. He cautiously entered it. This little quest he was on was like that computer game "Minesweeper". The more doors you open, the closer you get to finding the bomb. This bomb was Anzu Mazaki.

There were four doors. The first he opened was the master bathroom, with a marble jacuzzi and marble and glass everything. The second door was a bedroom. The bedroom. The bomb.

She was lying on a big, pink and blue bed, asleep. The sunlight splashed onto her face and body, which was covered with what seemed to be the same clothing she wore to the club; it was red and black, and revealed Mazaki's well toned stomach.

Kaiba automatically stepped out of the room and shut the door firmly. No thoughts processed through his brain, only a numb feeling. He did not run, but took big and brisk steps toward the front door. That was an amazing thing about Kaiba- even if he had only been in this penthouse once, he had already almost memorized its floor plan. He had amazing memory.

Right before he yanked the front door open, however, Kaiba saw a note on the door. Pink and blue. Like her bedroom.

_Well, I guess you're leaving now! I know you are probably angry with me... But I will honestly tell you that I'm not sorry. I brought you here in hopes that you'd feel better and more comfortable, considering that you were DRUNK._

_I hope you have a good day!_

_Now and Forever,_

_Anzu Mazaki_

Kaiba read these words over and over again. Yes, this was definitely Anzu Mazaki. She had refused to say sorry, or say that she was wrong, or anything like that... just like the stubborn Mazaki he used to know. He was sure the last sentence before her closing was written sarcastically.

Kaiba sighed and walked back into his guest room. He first put on his own shoes, and then searched the desk for a piece of paper and pen. All he could find was mostly decorated stationary. Finally, he walked back to the computer room and found a post-it and fountain pen. He wrote something on it.

Kaiba heard the noise of someone stirring. He hastily scribbled a couple more words, then took the post-it in his hand and walked into the hallway. He walked into the living room and paused. After a few seconds, he heard the rustling of blankets as Mazaki slowly got out of bed. He heard footsteps, and a yawn. The door to her room opened. Kaiba bolted, but quietly. He hurried toward the front door. More footsteps echoed. The note! Kaiba hastily stuck it onto a little table a few feet away. The footsteps sounded louder as they moved closer and closer to Kaiba. He quickly opened the door and slipped out. The door quietly clicked shut.

* * *

That was odd. Anzu was quite sure that someone-undoubtedly Kaiba- had still been in her house when she woke up. But the entrance "hall"/alcove was empty when she entered. Oh well.

She saw a little post-it stuck on the shoe shelf/closet-thing(AN: Gee, I'm so descriptive!). Picking it up, she read it:

_You can leave me alone in the future._

_S.K._

_Thanks._

Anzu gawked in shock at the note. The first sentence seemed oblivious to her eyes as she read the last word. It was hastily written on like an afterthought, but the word was as clear as day.

Kaiba had thanked her. Kaiba had _thanked_ her. Kaiba had thanked **her**.

Whoa. Wow. Anzu felt _woozy_.

* * *

A certain blue-eyed brunette hummed a soft, half-forgotten tune as she practically skipped through the lobby of KaibaCorp. To the people and attendants standing by the front counters, the beautiful woman seemed extra cheerful.

Which she was... for reasons Anzu did not know. She assumed that it was because she loved this new job so much... her fellow staff were very sweet to her. Unbeknown to her, however, was another reason for her happiness...

Anzu quickened her pace, eager to get on the elevator as fast as possible. She was especially determined to do this, because (1) the pictures from yesterday's photo shoot were developed, and her group(Anzu and her staff) would be able to look at them. The other reason was to beat Kaiba.

It was quite creepy. Every single day ever since that faithful Friday when a certain cat had been saved by a certain girl who had been saved by a certain guy, Anzu had been "stuck" for twenty,long, agonizing seconds with Kaiba in the elevator. It was as if God was punishing her by forcing her into an ice chamber with the Dark Lord of Doom. Seriously. What were the chances of her being stuck with Seto Kaiba every day in the elevator! Both of them had to pick just twenty consecutive seconds in 864,000, and their choices just had to be the same. It must be the work of some supreme being gout there.

So as you can see, Anzu as more than eager to get rid of this... curse. Plus it'd be just plain awkward to run into Kaiba after this morning. Uber comfortableness. However, Anzu promised herself that if she ever saw Kaiba today, she'd NEVER mention the incident; she'd DIE of embarrassment.

But when she hastily entered the elevator, and the elevator stopped at level four, guess who was there. Mm hmm.

Anzu bit her lip to restrain herself from belting out a stream of choice... um... bad words. Kaiba looked as bored as ever, but beneath this expressionless mask Anzu saw annoyance and frustration. "Only twenty seconds," Anzu told herself. "Only twenty seconds. 19. 18."

The elevator's temperature was wobbling dangerously between Kaiba's iciness and his smoldering glare. "15, 14..." Out of nowhere, Anzu remembered a random question from a high school survey: "Would you rather burn to death or freeze to death?" Anzu sniffed. She was going to die both ways, all under the eyes of Seto Kaiba. "8, 7, 6..."

Anzu counted down the last five seconds. "...3, 2, 1." The little elevator bell rang.

But the doors didn't open.

Anzu waited patiently for them to separate.

They didn't.

No. **No.** It couldn't be. Anzu knew that this elevator was _evil_, but not devilish enough to _break down_ on her.

Anzu tentatively poked/pulled on the elevator doors. "Heh heh. Um," she giggled nervously, not looking at Kaiba. "The door kind of won't open." Lame lame lame.

"I can see that," Kaiba snapped coldly. He shoved Anzu to the side, and she fell onto the bench that ran along one of the elevator's sides(which has a view from a window of Domino) "Seriously, that beast has NO respect!" Anzu screamed in her head. Kaiba took no notice, and expertly put his fingers in the crack of the doors. As he pulled, Anzu saw his biceps tense through his clothing.(AN: FYI, he changed for work. Just in case you were wondering.) "Oh my," she thought blankly. Kaiba did not exactly strike her as a person to work out. Well, she always thought of him to be... built, but to see Kaiba with a sweatband covering his forehead... Anzu almost laughed out loud, but stopped herself just in time.

"Damn." Kaiba dropped his arms. He hadn't tried very hard to open the elevator(like some superhero), but only purposefully pulled slightly to see the "strength" of the doors being together. He acted like Anzu wasn't there, and took out his sleek, metallic cellphone, clicked something, and put it to his ear. "Get the repairmen to the East Entrance and fix the third elevator. Yes... Yes... I am. Try not to get the media on us; if you do, I'll personally make sure to remove you from our staff." He hung up. Once again, Kaiba ignored Anzu and sat on the opposite side of the bench that Anzu was on. He took out a laptop out of nowhere(AN?) and flipped up the screen. It automatically flicked on; he began typing.

Anzu stared, confused. If he was working right now in an _elevator_, it could only because of one of two reasons: (1) He was very, very, very, very, very busy, or (2) they were stuck here for a long time. Anzu hoped it was the first idea. "Let him suffer from the work," she silently thought evilly. "Hmph."

As this train of thought pattered quietly away, Anzu settled into an awkward silence. She wanted to know what was going on, but didn't want to ask Kaiba. It'd make her seem... "inferior", Or dependent, or something.

But she wanted to know what was going on! Anzu fought this mental battle- pride or knowledge. Pride or knowledge. Pride or knowledge. Knowledge.

She tentatively asked Kaiba, "Um... what's going on?" She bit her lip, knowing very well that her question was the lamest of lame.

Kaiba stopped typing, but didn't look up. "The elevator will be fixed in half an hour," he finally said in a monotone voice. He resumed his work.

"Oh! Good!" Anzu exclaimed, delighted that she had got Kaiba to talk without (him) making a remark or something. Then it dawned on her. "Wait-urm- no, that's bad!"she voiced her thoughts out loud. _Oh my gosh, I'm babbling like some bubble-headed idiot! What is _wrong_ with me right now!_ Anzu thought. Seriously, what had happened to "protecting" her pride? Then it really really struck her.

She was stuck with **Seto Kaiba**. In an **elevator**. And her mind wasn't functioning properly. This was not a good way to start her day.

---5 minutes later---

Seriously, how much more **AWKWARD** could this get? Anzu had the sudden urge to crawl under the bench, curl up, and fall asleep. But no, the bench wasn't hollow- it was a full block of maple wood.

"My shadow's the only thing that walks beside me..." her loud, rumbling cellphone began its noisy recording of "boulevard of Broken Dreams". (AN: I don't own that song:sniff:)

"Oh!" Anzu hastily pulled her cell out; she flipped it open and put it to her ear. "Hi, this is Anzu," she said cheerfully. Kaiba continued typing, not bothering to look up.

"Hey, hun," a female voice responded. "Mai!" Anzu exclaimed nervously. Of all people, her annoying matchmaker/friend had to call. At the worst time. Anzu desperately wanted to be anywhere, _anywhere_ but here.

"So, um, why call now?" she squeaked.

"That's a nice way to greet me," Mai scolded. "Are you busy now?"

"Yeah, I'm at work," Anzu replied. She bit her lip, realizing how dumb her responser was.

"Oh! At KaibaCorp?" Mai immediately perked up.

"Yeah..."

At this moment, there as a cellphone recording-thing of a song called "Wake Up"(AN: This is a real (awesome!) Chinese rock/pop song... I don't own it!). Kaiba pulled out his cell and opened it, putting it to his ear. "What do you want?" he growled.

"Anzu? Anzu!" Mai's voice interrupted(but didn't penetrate through) Anzu's shocked state. Seto Kaiba had a ringtone. With _music_. That cold jerk listened to _music_. Moreover, it was music that _she_ listened to. They had similar tastes in _music_. Oh my. Anzu had just made a startling discovery: Seto Kaiba had the _tiniest_ chance of actually being _normal_.

"Aaaaaanzuuuu..." Mai had resorted to singing her name. She automatically snapped back. "Mm?"

"So like I was _saying_, this would be the perfect time to call you." Mai kept on babbling on and on. Anzu was beginning to find it difficult to have both ears listening to two conversations.

"I don't care, those economists are wrong! The market sales have been predicted and graphed, and too many discs have been pre-ordered; I can prove them wrong... Yes... I know..."

"..So I was online earlier and looked at your popularity, hun, and do you now how hight it is with..."

"...They've been wrong for the past sales- those economists are incapable amateurs! They've only been hired for three months..."

"...So remember our agreement. You only have until tomorrow to set up a meeting for me. You know, with Kaiba."

"Um... ok," Anzu slowly replied. She'd been very busy all this time, and hadn't even remembered her agreement. And she only had until _tomorrow_.

"I'll try to soon," she said at last.

"Ok-"

"So fire them **as soon as possible,**" Kaiba growled, emphasizing the last four words.

To Anzu's complete horror, Mai stopped in mid-sentence and said, puzzled, "Anzu, who's that in the background? A man? (sigh.) I told you not to get involved with any other men- that'd be totally cheating on Kaiba."

"KAIBA AND I-" Anzu screamed. The other occupant of the elevator looked up, straight at Anzu. Matrix- slow motion! Her eyes widened as she realized what she had just blurted out and what Kaiba was probably thinking.

"**What?**" Kaiba growled, irritated.

Ignoring the cell in her hand and the loud voice coming from it, Anzu tried to think up something -anything- to say. "Um... Nothing!... I'm...," she drawled. "Talking to a friend! No, media! I mean, my friend's a... reporter. For the media! Ans she's... asking me... questions..." she finished, wincing at her words.

Kaiba gave Anzu an icy stare that showed he completely didn't believe her. But he didn't respond and went right back to his work.

Anzu couldn't believe how easy she was let off. "_ANZU?_" a voice blared from her cell.

Right here," she said as casually as possible. Now convincing Mai about Kaiba was going to be harder.

"Who is that! Are you alone with that man? Who could he be?" Mai began babbling to herself. "A deep, husky voice... hmm... and something about economics... Oh my god, he's one of those bald, nerdy guys with glasses! Wait, he seems to have _power_ to be ordering people around like that... A manager? President? CEO?"

Silence. For a split second, Anzu thought that maybe, just maybe Mai had hit her her head and fallen unconsicous... And would wake up with no memory of the conversation.

"**KAIBA?**" Mai screamed. Anzu's heart sank. No, more like dropped and dissipated, along with her stomach and throat.

"NO NO NO NO NO NO **NO!**" she finally screamed back."I- he- no!" All of a sudden, Anzu did not care if she was blushing madly. Or that Kaiba was staring at her in alarm, not bothering to hide his emotions. And annoyance. Or that she was standing up and had collapsed onto her _knees_ and finally completely down on the floor. All she cared about at the moment was to not let Mai know who was in the elevator with her. Because she would SO get the wrong idea.

"IT IS IT IS IT IS!" Mai practically hollered.

"NO NO NO!" Anzu practically hollered back. "Um, um, um, my boss Hiroko's calling me. Gotta go!" Anzu shoved her thumb onto the "End" button and stashed it into her bag. She huffed in relief, blowing the lonely strands of hair on her face that had fallen there in Anzu's frenzy.

Kaiba watched this all with an amused- _amused_- expression. "Someone's pissed," he said simply. Anzu opened her eyes and glared at him. So their silence war was over. Kaiba had changed the battlefield. Oh, and Anzu _would_ fight. She _was_ pissed.

"Just... shut up and go back to your work," Anzu shot back weakly. What was with her lameness with words today?

Kaiba smirked. It seemed as if he'd make some retort, but to Anzu's surprise, he ignored her once again and _got back to working_. Anzu knew that Kaiba wasn't actually obeying what she had said, because he probably really did have lots of work and was ignoring Anzu for that... But still, Anzu was a bit happy for getting the last word of the "conversation".

Anzu just glared up at him for a few long moments. Then she huffed again, got up, and sat down on the bench with as much dignity as she could muster. She shot Kaiba another stare(muttering the word, "jerk"), and took out her cell, pretending to do something on it. Of course, she was doing anything but.

Her thoughts drifted to what Mai had said. _"**KAIBA!**" Mai screamed._ Anzu cringed at the memory. Um... rewind. _"...So remember our agreement. You only have until tomorrow to set up a meeting for me. You know, with Kaiba."_ Anzu sighed. How was she supposed to do that? She was currently on obviously bad terms with the guy. And she wouldn't see him today or tomorrow. Except for right now. Anzu almost gasped. What happened if this was one of those "Now or Never" things? She SO hoped not.

But was there any other possible time? Nope. ...But maybe she could convince Mai to extend her time. No, Mai was never a patient one.

Yup. It was now or never. Anzu groaned.

* * *

She really was annoying. Why couldn't she just mind her own little business in her own little world? That'd benefit Kaiba so much.

He wanted to leave this elevator as soon as possible, or else that girl would drive him crazy(AN: ooh...). It was good that yesterday night/this morning's incident hadn't been mentioned; it was as if they had silently made a mutual agreement to act as if it had never happened. And Kaiba would have ignored it anyway.

Now, back to work. Kaiba began typing up some information for a specific prototype for KaibaCorp's next piece of new technology.

Anzu huffed again. Kaiba watched her from the corner of his eye. She seemed to be battling some decision in her mind. He could tell that she was going to say something.

"Um... Mr. Kaiba," she finally said in a firm, professional voice(that was totally different from the one she had used earlier). That was expected.

Kaiba slowed down his typing speed, and contemplated how to respond, because his reply would definitely set the mood of the conversation. At last, he decided to ignore Mazaki to infuriate her.

Silence. "Mr. Kaiba," she said firmly again, louder this time.

Kaiba put on an irritated expression and said in an exasperated voice, "What do you want, girl?"

Mazaki seemed taken aback. Kaiba saw shock and annoyance on her face, but she skillfully masked it. She responded, "I'm honestly trying to treat you with respect, Mr. Kaiba, so please so in return for me."

"But you don't deserve any, Mazaki," Kaiba said lazily. He was beginning to enjoy this conversation.

Mazaki looked very offended, but controlled her anger coolly. Before she could reply, Kaiba said in a vexed manner, "Say what you want, but don't take too long wasting my time."

This time, Mazaki didn't hide her emotions on her face. She looked away, out the window, breathing slowly.

"Well?" Kaiba said.

Mazaki glared at him and looked out the window again. "...I'd like to set up a meeting between you and Mai Valentine for business purposes."

* * *

There. She had said it. Anzu relaxed a little, glad that she was relieved of her little errand. But she quickly tensed up again, knowing that her pride was possibly in Kaiba's hands to crush.

Kaiba gave Anzu a why-would-I-want-to-have-a-meeting-with-Valentine-since-she's-the-president-of-a-_clothing_-company-when-mine's-a-real-more-important-one-than-hers look.

"What make you think that I'd accept this invitation?", he finally growled.

_How am I supposed to replay to that!_ Anzu thought. "Um..." she said aloud. "Because... she owns... a... successful company?"

Kaiba smirked. " Which happens to sell women's clothing. But her company's nothing compared to mine. Tell her no."

Ok, Anzu was desperate now. She must get this meeting. It seemed quite important to Mai. "But you have to!" she pleaded. Wait- now she sounded like she was begging Kaiba. Ooh, wrong way to go.

Anzu straightened her back and awkwardly changed her expression. She gave the oblivious Kaiba a stern eye and said, almost nonchalantly, "Oh well. I guess I'll just ask Mokie. He'll easily set up a meeting for me." Which was a totally on-the-spot, big, fat lie. She hadn't even contacted Kaiba's little brother since she got back(AN: Oh, shoot! I forgot to invite him to the party in Ch. 3! Sorry Mokie. -.-)

"After all," she went on, "ignoring" Kaiba(who had given her his full attention), "we are best of friends." At least that part was true. Mokuba was almost Anzu's little brother.

Kaiba stared at Anzu, then shook his head, hiding a smile. "I know you're bluffing," he said. "I have to admit, you're good at it. But I'm not that easily fooled. If you're so desperate for a meeting, I'll just give your little friend one. Out of pity." Before Anzu could protest, he clicked something on his laptop(probably a calender-schedule or something) and said offhandedly, "I'll book Wednesday the 20th from 3:00 to 3:15PM."

"That's only fifteen minutes!" Anzu exclaimed.

"I'm a very busy man. Take it or leave it," Kaiba smirked.

Anzu glared at Kaiba(for like, the tenth time). She mumbled, "Whatever."

He typed something onto his laptop, not responding.

* * *

Kaiba had no idea why he had agreed to Mazaki's proposal. Mai Valentine was that shallow-minded ditz who only cared about money and clothing. Moreover, she was a horrible duelist, which was probably the reason she had stopped playing six years ago. He had given away fifteen minutes of his life to spend on a meeting with the bubbly idiot. Yet here he was, typing away on his computer planner that those precious fifteen minutes were booked. Which brought up the question again: Why had he agreed?

Truthfully, it was because he was in a good mood. He didn't know why- he had a bad morning(cough) and a bad mood entering the elevator. Yet now he was fine.

Kaiba assumed this was because of that Mazaki girl. Not that he was happy she was there, Kaiba assured himself, but because she was making a fool of herself. Yet Kaiba had this... "complete" feeling rarely... Only with one person: Mokuba.

What was up with that?

Mazaki giggled; she also seemed to be in a better mood. Kaiba looked up questioningly. She pointed out the window. "Look at those two pigeons. They're fighting like an old married couple."

Kaiba didn't bother to look, but only said, "If they're fighting, they're probably both males arguing over property and mates."

"I know, but still," Mazaki replied. "It's cute to imagine them as a girl-boy couple."

"Then you've got your facts wrong and you're being ignorant and stupid," Kaiba said, rolling his eyes. He had the urge to add "As usual", but decided against it.

"No, I just have an imagination, unlike you," Mazaki retorted. She prodded at the glass window. "See. Look." Kaiba ignored her. She prodded harder and said, "Come on, it's not that hard." Kaiba rolled his eyes again and looked out the window.

"You can't see from there," Mazaki said, and pulled his arm. Kaiba jolted a little when her fingers contacted his arm, but she didn't seem to notice. Kaiba reluctantly leaned over(not noticing that he was half-hovering over Mazaki) to look out the window. Sure enough, two pigeons were having a not-so-little disagreement. Kaiba let out a little laugh, and was about to lean back to sit back down, but th elevator suddenly jolted upwards and he fell on top of Mazaki.

It didn't end there- Mazaki lost balance with the weight on top of her and they tumbled to the ground.

Thankfully, the two bodies weren't pressed together when this happened. But Mazaki was _warm_... Kaiba was hugging a bundle of warmth...

"Shit." The elevator doors would open any second. He couldn't let anyone see him in a position like this- they'd get the wrong idea. Now that the elevator was suddenly fixed, he had about ten seconds until the doors parted...

Ten.

Kaiba and Anzu struggled to untangle their limbs.

Nine.

Kaiba managed to get onto his elbows, then hands, while still over Anzu.

Eight.

Anzu attempted to get up, knocking Kaiba over.

Seven.

Kaiba sat up, cursing, and the two tried to get up at the same time; no avail.

Six.

It's hard to do it at the same time in such a small space.

Five.

Come on, teamwork!

Four.

Kaiba managed to stand up; his arm was being used by Anzu as a support to get up.

Three.

As Kaiba got yanked down, Anzu got up quickly, and they bumped heads.

Two.

Ouch.

One.

Suck that pain in!

Zero.

* * *

George, the repairman, was standing in front of the level nine elevator opening, unbelievably bored. He knew he should be grateful that he could actually _do_ something today, since nothing in the KaibaCorp Building ever really broke, being hi-tech and all. But honestly, he _was_ bored.

_Ding!_ "Level... Nine." The elevator doors slowly opened. There stood a very pissed-looking, stiff Mr. Kaiba and a Miss Mazaki who was clutching her head and crying, "My head, my head..."

George's jaw dropped. Standing in front of him were two of the world's most famous people! "G-good morning," he stuttered, bowing deeply.

Miss Mazaki seemed to just notice the doors were open. She paused her ranting and looked at George, who felt his face warm up. She instantly smile, and said cheerfully, "Oh, Good Morning to you too!" in a polite voice, dipping her head. Kaiba didn't even acknowledge George's presence, and stormed out the elevator, muttering something about bad service.

Anzu looked at him(or his back) with an annoyed expression. She smiled an dthanked the bewildered repairman again, and then walked down one of the hallways.

Right when she turned the corner, Anzu dropped her cheerful face expression and moped. It was good that no one was there on the ninth level to watch what had happened, but it was still embarrassing. Anzu rubbed her head- it still hurt as if a brick had been dropped on her skull. Why the heck were all these things happening to her and Kaiba! Fate was **EVIL**. E-V-I-L. Anzu sniffed and sulked some more.

"Good morning, Anzu!" a cheerful voice sang out. Anzu looked up and immediately smiled, her thoughts melting away. Itoe, her staff/friend was running towards her. "Good morning, Itoe!" she exclaimed. "How are you?"

"Wonderful as always," Itoe giggled. "And you?"

"Fine," Anzu lied. "Am I late today?" She worriedly looked at her watch.

"Nah, it's only ten o'clock. Come on, Hiroko said that she wanted to go over the photos immediately!"

"Ok!" Anzu replied, and the two practically danced into the lounge.

"Koniichiwa!" Anzu greeted Hiroko and Luke. (AN: That is what they say, right? I dunno.)

"And to you," they chorused. "Come sit down," Hiroko told Anzu and Itoe. They did so.

Anzu saw that the table they were sitting around as scattered with photos of her. The backgrounds were mostly different colors and designs- some were dark red, and some were honey with faint, yellow strips. Anzu's hair was blown with the fan on all the pics- they had decided not to put it up in styles for this photo shoot. She was dressed in a casual, summery clothing. In each photo, she was holding a Duel Monsters card.

"I like these four best best," Luke said, picking them out, "but I like these eleven best." He took out seven more.

"You can't choose so many, Luke," Hiroko scolded. She picked two out- one with an olive green background, and the honey-colored one with stripes.

Itoe pouted. "This is hard," she complained. "Anzu looks so beautiful in all of them."

"That's not true," Anzu argued. "I look so dorky." She pulled out a photo of her in mid-twirl, holding the "Mystical Goddess" (ABN: I think that's what it's called. Can't remember.) card which had an azure and sky/cerulean blue background. "See?"

"That's my favorite," Itoe automatically said. She grabbed it out of Anzu's hand and scrutinized it. Itoe grinned and said, "It's perfect!" Luke and Hiroko quickly leaned in.

"It is," Luke murmured.

"I seem not to have noticed that one," Hiroko said. "But it's beautiful."

"Guys! I don't believe you! That is the ugliest, most cheesy photo of me ever in my twenty-one years!" She held up another random photo frantically. "See? This one's so much better. How about this one?" They gave her no attention.

"I will not, not, NOT let you use that photo!" she exclaimed.

* * *

"I can't believe they're using that photo," Anzu moaned as she slowly twirled on her office swivel chair. She gloomily threw a crumpled piece of blank paper into the trash can. "It's unbelievable." They had chosen the weirdest picture for Anzu's first advertisement, which would be plastered all over posters and buildings in Domino, and everywhere else in the world.

She looked so... absurd in that pic! Anzu was kind of twirling, and the photo was shot when her back was facing the camera and her upper body was turned to also face it, along with her right arm and hand, which was holding the card between the index and middle finger. She was wearing a fashionable white, open-collar over-thing where the left "strip"/piece/side of the fabric crossed over the right one, which was crossed to the left. Kind of like a jacket. Or bathrobe. And the two parts tied in the back. (AN: Ah, I dunno how to explain!) She wore a brown tank top underneath and a classy black skirt that flared out a little at the bottom.

Two words: COMPLETE DORK.

"Uhhhh..." Anzu moaned. She didn't want to think about it. She had to focus on something else.

Her eyes landed on a little, green gift-wrapped box with a small, pink bow. Anzu smiled and grabbed it. She carefully pulled off the ribbon and gently lifted the tape from the wrapping. After opening th e box, she found a little note from Luke's little sister, Mei, saying that she was a HUGE fan of Anzu and welcoming her to KaibaCorp. There was also a small piece of blank but decorated paper. Anzu immediately understood; she took out a sparkly pen and signed it, and wrote a little note to Mei.

Then, Anzu looked inside the box. Nestled in some cushion was a little chibi figure charm of Anzu as a ballerina. IT seemed custom made- the cellphone charm looked exactly like Anzu. She giggled and took out her cell, and hooked the charm onto it. Then she began to write a personal thank you note.

There was a soft knock on the door. Anzu put her phone away, and said, "Come in." Itoe walked in. "Hi, Itoe," Anzu greeted her.

"Hi," Itoe said. "Um, Mr. Kaiba told me to deliver this to you." She handed Anzu a little envelope. "Actually," she went on. "He phoned the secretary and the secretary phoned me to send this by hand, but whatever." Itoe laughed. "Mr. Kaiba rarely associates with us lowly co-workers," she half joked.

Anzu accepted the envelope with thanks. She curiously opened the expensive thing, and took out a card. It must have been very expensive; there were blue engravings of dragons along the edge/border, and the words were scripted in gold:

"_**Anzu Mazaki**_

_is invited to the dinner party_

_in Celebration of the release of the latest Duel Disc: Unleashed"_

_on Monday, July 18th_

_from 8:00 PM to midnight_

_at "The Ice Crown"_

_Directions are attached_

_Invitation must be presented for admission"_

"The Ice Crown!" Anzu exclaimed, nearly dropping the card. "A dinner party in a club?"

"Actually," Itoe said sheepishly. "It's anything but formal. The 'dinner party' thing is just an excuse to have a... celebration. Mr. Kaiba doesn't set these things up- though he attends them(because he has to); it's one of the managers. The guy just loves parties."

"...I see," Anzu smiled.

"So? Can you come?" Itoe replied, anxious. "I know this was a late invitation, but the managers really want you to come. There aren't that many people invited, so it's an honor. By the way, I'll be going."

"Tell him, or whoever's in charge, that I can attend. Thank you!" Anzu replied.

"No problem!" Itoe exclaimed happily and skipped out of the room.

Anzu looked fondly at Itoe as she left. Then she looked back at the card. "This will be interesting," she thought.

* * *

Ok, I lied. Long chapter. Sue me.

**Mystical Aquafina**: Yeah, I was laughing so much when I wrote that scene! I am so mean to Anzu... Yet I don't feel bad. Lol **Gauri92**: I agree! It is definitely awkward to have your enemy in your house... **kagome1316**: Gah, you flatter me! Seriously, my story's not that good! I'm not a great writer. **Mischiefmagnet**:sniff: Sorry... I've never been to a bar or club, considering that I'm 13, but still, that scene wasn't written that well. I feel bad. But thank you! Gee, your reviews always make me so happy! You're like a big sister I never had. Or brother. Wait, you're a girl, right? Of course you are. **A Devil in Heaven**: Yeah, I also really liked the chibi thoughts. I'm glad you did, too! **Firevixen73**: Sorry... I failed you! I didn't update soon enough. I'm terribly sorry! **Seguha**: Once again, I feel bad about not updating soon like you all told me to. :sniff: Sorry! **Gekkou Hana**: WAHH I feel even worse! I didn't update this chapter very soon... But I'll try to put up chapter six faster! **Amberblood**: lol I loved these two scenes, too! **Slytherinsess**: Ha ha! I'm sorry for being in control of your sanity! lol Tyronica: yeah, I tried to slow it down. It also seemed a bit fast for me. Hopefully I can add a couple more bumps on the long road to Kaiba and Anzu's final relationship! **KaibaYamiLover**: There are still a lot of chapters coming up:throws confetti: **Crystallyne**: **DKRaven**: OMG. I'm OBSESSED with cute stuff. But that doesn't have to do with anything, does it? Yeah, I loved that scene, too! **Hedwig-the-MilleniumOwl**: It's funny? Yayy... I tried to make it so, but I was a bit worried that my humor might be cheesy or something. **NarakuChic001**: Aw, thanks! I'm not that good a writer... It's only my hobby. **KeikoGurl**: lol I made it mysterious so that the reader could :ahem: "pick" where the hand went! I was also pretty mortified at the idea! Thank you! **Can't-Think-Of-A-Good-Name-So-This-Will-Do**: lol, ok, thanks! **MorningRUM**: Hm? Ch. 3 didn't update? Try to click the "Refresh" button. I dunno... I'm not an expert at computers! **Living Arrow**: lol In the TV show, one of Kaiba's helper-people is called "Roland". So I tried to pick out a kind of word like that. "Schultz" is actually a real last name! Oh, and sorry about the misunderstanding about the Mai/Kaiba/Anzu meeting. I'll explain that four paragraphs down. I know, I was unclear in my writing. My fault. Sorry!

Yay! This story has been accepted into the "The Heart of A Dragon" c2! Thank you!

I'm so sorry to Mokie! He SO should have been in the get-together in chapter two... but I totally forgot. Wahh...

Gee... :rubs head worriedly: I need some major help for Mai's meeting with Kaiba. I dunno what she should do! I originally had a plan, but then realized it wouldn't work.

I think we need some clarification here due to my horrible and unclear writing. In chapter 2, Mai and Anzu had a bet that the Gang would/wouldn't talk about the cat incident. If Anzu won, Mai would promise not to talk about matching up Kaiba and Anzu anymore. If Mai won, she could make Anzu do one deed for her. And obviously Mai won. So she's making Anzu set up a meeting between Mai and Kaiba for "business purposes". Ok? Ok. Sorry if that was unclear.

Oh! I'm now "hiring" a helper-person! I dunno, I just need someone to help edit my chapters in advance and/or give me advice and suggestions. So if you'd like to help, please mention so in your review! Hopefully I'll have access to your email so that if I pick you, I can tell you that I picked you. Thank you!

By the way, I 'm thinking about writing another series that is setoxanzu. It'll be called "Full House," named after the Korean TV show. Awesome, awesome show. If any of you readers have watched this show and/or are a fan of it(so few of you...), PLEAZ, **PLEAZ** tell me! It's supposed to be a parody to the TV show, but I don't know the plot that well! Awesome, awesome TV show. If any of you live in the Bay Area in CA, it's on KTSF at 8:00 PM, dubbed from Korean into Mandarin. WATCH IT!

Also, even if you haven't heard of the show but would like to help me write it, please also contact me!

Please drop by a review. Compliments will be treasured, constructive comments considered, and flames cried over. Thank you again to all you reviewers and readers!

Love,

Ambiance-Dream


	6. Jealousy

Author's Note: I'm so, **SOO** sorry for the long updates! -.- I'm always busy nowadays, because I joined swim team, and that eats up like, two more hours (every day) of my already limited free time. Many apologies. Don't badger me about being so slow... :sniff: I feel horrible about it already. If I haven't updated in a while, go to my bio page; I may have a note there with reasons for my lateness.

By the way, something really odd happened to me the day after I posted Ch 5. You know that flashback where Anzu gets a cut on her left ring finger? The exact same thing happened to me the day after! Except it was on my left middle finger... But at the exact same area of the finger! o.O I have a scar now. :sniffle:

OMG. This next apology(I know, I have an endless supply of them) goes out to you anonymous readers. For the past five chapters, I've always been getting signed reviews, but no anonymous ones. I always wondered why. Well, the week after posting the fifth chapter, I realized that I had **disabled** anonymous reviews-- I was (unknowingly) blocking you guys!...And now I've enabled it. So please drop by a review, because now you can. I'm SOOO sorry!

Speaking of reviews. I'm amazed at how many I've gotten. Eighty! Wow. And 18 for just Ch 5! Seriously, I'm completely blown away from all this! Thank you so much for your wonderful(and flattering) reviews. I know that everyone says this, but it's mainly the reviews that propel me when writing this story.

BTW, the party's not in this chapter. It's in the next one. Sorry for the disappointment.

Oh, and special thanks to **mischiefmagnet** for giving me ideas and editing this chapter! I couldn't live without you:bow:

So thank you! Presenting... Chapter Six!

**Disclaimer: HELLO. If I'm writing this on a free, non-profit Internet site(and no, I'm not dissing do you really think I own Yugioh? If I did, I'd be publishing this junk. Of _course_ I don't own it!**

**Anywhere But Here**

**Ch. 6: Jealousy**

"Dishes? Check. Table? Check. Counters? Check," Anzu Mazaki murmured as she slowly walked through her penthouse with clipboard in hand. She stepped into the living room, checking off the things she had cleaned. "Rugs? Check. TV?" She scurried up to it, and touched the plasma screen and then looked at her finger. There was barely any dust, but in Anzu's eyes, there was a thick film of the gray stuff. "Aha! Not check!" she proclaimed, and whipped out her handy-dandy Windex(AN: Don't own it, don't want to either) window cleaner. She sprayed at the TV screen as if she was using a gun, and then began to furiously scrub.

Unlike the celebrity/rich person stereotype, Anzu preferred to clean her home herself. She didn't like having servants and maids; it was kind of... intruding. Plus, Anzu liked the housework. She found washing dishes relaxing(AN: I do... nice, warm suds... hehe), and wiping/cleaning tables reminded her of the good ol' days when she was a waitress in high school. Anzu had worked at "Burger World", a very popular burger place(duh), so that she could raise enough money to go to a New York academy to dance.

Anzu smiled faintly at the thought. It was always nice to think about how far that waitress money took her. Whoever would have known that she'd become a world-renowned dancer and celebrity?

The high, sweet trill of the house phones brought Anzu out of her stilled thoughts. She put down her cleaning... tools, and reached over the low TV table and grabbed the phone. "Hi, Anzu speaking," she voiced cheerfully.

"Hi," the person replied. "This is Mai."

"Ha ha, that rhymes," Anzu said humorlessly. "Oh, I set up your meeting with Mr Jerk, by the way."

"Really! How?" Mai's attention seemed suddenly ensnared to the conversation.

_Well, ok, let's see, I was stuck with the guy for ten thousand hours yesterday. In an elevator. Oh, no, of course it's not as bad as you think- I mean, I just _love_ when I get to be stuck with a stuck-up jerk. Yeah, I asked him for a meeting then. And a few minutes later, he fell on top of me. No big deal. Yeah, that's pretty much it_, Anzu thought, shuddering at the memory.

"I just happened to- pass him," Anzu said aloud in a forced-happy voice. "In the hallways! Yeah..."

"And he just said ok?" Mai sounded a bit suspicious.

"Uh huh... no! Of _course_ not! It was hard convincing him, but I managed to at the end," Anzu replied, her mind gears rolling furiously.

"Ah, I... see," Mai said in a thoughtful voice. There was a pause on the other side of the phone. "So when is the meeting?"

"Um... let me check." Anzu grabbed her little date book. "It's on... Wednesday, at 3:00 PM to 3:15 PM."

"That's only fifteen minutes!" Mai practically screamed.

"Well, I'm sorry," Anzu replied, putting her hand on her hip. "It was pretty hard just to get the meeting. You know, extreme measures."

"Extreme measures?" Mai said, any trace of exasperation gone from her voice.

"No!" Anzu inwardly cursed... "Not the kind you're imagining!" She knew what Mai was thinking. "As in, like, arguing extreme-ish-ly!"

"Hmmm..." Mai murmured. Another silence.

Anzu used this time to change the subject. "Hey, why do you want a meeting anyways?"

"I told you," Mai said. "Business matters."

"Why can't you just tell me?" Anzu pouted. "I am the one that set up the meeting, so I have a right to know."

"You'll know soon enough," Mai said mysteriously. Before Anzu could reply, Mai said in a totally different tone, "Want to go shopping?"

:Anzu anime-falls over: "Uh..." she said. "Ok... Wait, know, I'm busy today because of housecleaning... And on Monday I have work."

"How about tomorrow?" Mai asked. "That's a Sunday."

"Ok, that works," Anzu said. She held up the paper towel and began to clean the TV again.

"I thought there was no work on Monday because of that duel disk thing."

"There isn't for most people," Anzu replied, "and I don't, either. But I'm going to a party to celebrate that night, and that's kind of like KaibaCorp work, I guess."

"Is it formal?" Mai said a bit too quickly.

"Of course not! It takes place in a _club_," Anzu replied. "Can you believe that? A club!"

"I mean, it's at the 'Ice Crown', so it's not like some dank place in a city's outskirts, but _still_..." she went on. She stopped abruptly when she heard Mai clap in excitement on the other side of the phone. "Then we must bring you out!" she exclaimed. "Oh, Anzu hun, do you know how long I've been waiting for a day like this?"

Anzu quickly caught on to Mai's meaning. "But I've dressed for events like these a gazillion time before in the past," she said slowly. "How's this one different?"

"Because," Mai said grandly. "I'll have the honor of preparing your looks all to myself!"

"But I never-"

"Oops, gotta go! I'll see you tomorrow, hun!"

_Click_.

"Hello? Hello!" Anzu exclaimed over the phone. There was no response.

Anzu sighed and put the phone down. She sat back down in front of the TV. To particularly no one, she mumbled, "Why am I even friends with her?"

* * *

"Mai, shut up!" Anzu hissed, her face flaming with embarrassment. They were in one of the most expensive clothing shops in Domino. No, scratch that- in Japan. 

Mai acted like she couldn't hear Anzu. "Why, even the quality of this fabric's cheap!" she exclaimed loudly, disdainfully picking up a short skirt on the racks. "The next thing I know, we'll learn that this was made from child labor!" She ignored the glares and infuriated looks everyone was giving them(mostly Mai, actually). The manager, who was standing about twenty feet away, looked like she was about to burst into flames, but managed to stay where she was.

"Maiiii," Anzu pleaded again, tugging her shirt sleeve like a child. "Your reputation's at stake if you continue this..."

"Well, I'm willing to give that up in order to prove how bad the clothing here is! The styles are hideous, and you can tell there was no creativity put into them! This place is disdainful! Even the workers are rude!" Mai called out, acting oblivious to the fact that everyone could hear her loud and clear. Which was, of course, her intention.

"That's because you're rude to them," Anzu muttered. Mai played deaf. "I've never seen any place as bad as this in my whole entire career," she announced dramatically. She turned to Anzu and said, "Come, hun, let's go to a better shopping place instead of this, this _flea market_ before I lose my mind." And with a grand flourish, she dragged a scarlet-purple Anzu out the door, head held high. Mai's that is.

"What did you think you were doing?"" Anzu exploded when they got into Mai's car.

"Bringing justice to Fashion Land once again," Mai said in a dreamy, off-hand manner. She turned the engine on and off they sped.

Anzu gave Mai a weird glance. "You're strange, Mai," she said at last.

"Mm hmm, that's why you all love me," Mai mumbled. There was a silence as the two women enjoyed the wind blowing their faces and hair in the convertible.

"Say, how about we go to my place?" Mai asked. "You know, my company building. I have tons of clothing for you to try out!"

"Sure!" Anzu brightened at the idea. Even though most of ValentineHart's clothing was for female duelists, some of it was for other purposes, too.

"And then we can finally make that contract that we've been planning for years for you to model for us!" Mai went on.

Anzu smiled happily, but then it quickly faded. "Wait, but I'm already working for KaibaCorp right now, though, " she said reluctantly. "And that lasts a year."

"Don't worry," Mai said in that mysterious voice again. "I've got it all figured out." She winked at Anzu. Before she could reply, Mai pointed ahead. "We're almost there."

* * *

"Wooooowww!" Anzu exclaimed, admiring one of the _huge_, huge, **huge** "closets" in the ValentineHart building. The racks, which lined two sides of the room, were bursting full of clothes. 

"This room is just for your body size," Mai explained. "Because most people don't have bodies as slim as yours, we don't have as many clothes as we do for others."

"Are you serious?" Anzu exclaimed. "This is tons already! There must be hundreds of dresses here!"

Mai smiled, crossed her arms, and leaned on the door frame. "These are all just prototypes, so if you want to alter the design, just tell me." She sat down on a chair and looked at Anzu expectantly. "Well, pick a dress and try it on!"

"So many," Anzu whispered, still awestruck. Mai rolled her eyes and walked up beside Anzu. "You look especially good in cerulean," she said, expertly sifting through the dresses. "Yes, a darkish, but still sky-ish blue." Sift sift. "Here, try this one," she said, handing Anzu a dress. She went in to change.

"How do I look?" Anzu asked when she came out.

"Absolutely gorgeous!" Mai exclaimed.

Anzu turned around to look in the three-paneled mirror. She gasped.

"This thing is _skimpy_!" she almost wailed, hugging herself tightly. True, the sparkles were pretty, but the cut was low! It was made to be especially tight around the chest, and Anzu felt like she would burst.

"What do you mean!" Mai exclaimed. "You look wonderfully sexy! If Seto gives you one look, he'll-"

She was immediately silenced by Anzu's Ultimate Death Glare. "Just say one word," Anzu whispered in a frighteningly cold voice.

Mai stiffly walked past Anzu to get to the racks. She pulled out a random one and said meekly, "Um, try this one instead, if you want."

Anzu smiled icily. "That's the spirit."

Eventually, Anzu cooled down(more like warmed up). Although Mai thought each dress Anzu wore was better than the one before, Anzu didn't feel completely satisfied. "I don't know...," she said slowly as she searched the racks for the one thousandth time "All these dresses are beautiful, but they just don't fit me... Mai, do you have anything... OH, I don't know, less _revealing_?" Mai gave Anzu a plain I-don't-get-you look. "Anzu, hun, trust me, these look _wonderful_ on you! There are countless women out there who would die to have a body like yours." Anzu rolled her eyes. "How shallow," she retorted. Sift, sift, sift.

"Here, why don't we look at the contract first as a break, and then get back at this? Mai suggested.

"Hn," Anzu agreed. They walked out of the dressing rooms and sat down at the huge table that was shaped in some irregular shape. There were other groups of people sitting and standing around the table, discussing and planning future clothing and design. Mai went to her office for a moment and came out with a large stack of papers.

"Whoa," Anzu remarked at the size of the stack. "Yeah," Mai said, putting them down on the table with a huff. "You'll have to read all this, then sign." Anzu shook her heard. "I'll just sign or whatever and have one of my agents read it later," she replied. "I need a pen. Pen, pen, pen, pen..."

As she searched the table for a pen, a lean man with rectangular glasses and a colorful scarf came up to Mai. "Ah, Mai!" he exclaimed, hands in the air. Mai turned and smiled. "Brad!" she exclaimed, and they hugged. "Anzu," she said. Anzu looked up. " this is my good friend Brad Languino from Italy. He's a very famous fashion designer. You may have heard of him, maybe...?" Anzu lighted up at the name She stood up, and they shook hands; Anzu dipped her head in a small bow. "Hello," she smiled politely. "I've seen many of your works. They're very, very beautiful!"

"Ah, thank you," Brad said in an accented voice. "I' have also heard of you, Miss Mazaki. .. It's an honor to meet you!"

"And a pleasure for me to meet you, too," Anzu smiled.

"So, Brad, what is it you wanted to tell me?" Mai asked him. Brad was launched into a long chatter about a new style he was planning to introduce, blah blah. Anzu let her head slightly turn so that her eyes could search for a pen. She caught sight of one sitting on top of a large plan of some prototype. She leaned down and meant to grab the pen, but she was distracted when she was the paper underneath it.

It was only a sketch with a tasteful touch of creamy-white color added to enhance the drawing. The dress, which seemed so vibrant, so real in Anzu's eyes, was a halter top, but the "string" part that wrapped around the neck was silk that was one-inch thick. There was no intricate design sewn into the fabric, although a faint, pale gold border lightly graced the hemline, which was just below the knees. A small, simple, pale jewel sat at the point of the dress where the "neck ribbons" connected with the rest of the dress.

"That...that," Anzu whispered, oblivious she had said so aloud. Mai turned back to Anzu at the sound. "Hm?" She smiled when she saw what Anzu's eyes were trained to. "Oh, that."

"I-isn't that the-""

"Yeah, an exact copy of the ballroom dress Rinoa Heartilly wears in Final Fantasy VIII," Mai finished. (AN: I own neither of those... Maybe I'll cosplay that sometime, though. D)

Anzu stared some more. She finally dragged her eyes to lock to her fingers, and whispered, "Pity it hasn't been made yet."

"I guess I can ask the artist about this or her plans for that design, but it'll take some time," Mai answered doubtfully. "I don't know if I could do it by tomorrow, though..."

"Actually," came Brad's unexpected response, "I designed that."

Mai and Anzu looked up at him simultaneously.

"And," Brad went on(pretty surprised and delighted at the sudden attention), "I have the color scheme and everything ready to go. I can make that dress by tomorrow afternoon, for sure, for sure."

"But dresses usually take weeks, sometimes months to make!" Anzu protested.

"Naw," Brad said, dramatically flitting the though away with his hand. "I know a seamstress named Michiyo Fujiwara... and old friend of mine. Sewing isn't her career, but she's amazing a tit. Her hand sewing is faster than anything I've ever seen, and not one scene is out of place. She can get the dress done in no time."

"Great," Mai agreed. "Anzu hun, just stop by tomorrow sometimes in the afternoon and I'll get you all made up." She emphasized the last two words with excitement, obviously loving how they rolled off her tongue.

"Wait," Anzu weakly protested again. This was going by too fast for her. "What's going on? Wait, you don't need to make a dress for me! That's too much work for you! I don't want to inconvenience you! I'll get a dress... somewhere... myself!"

"Oh, no, Anzu, -you don't mind me calling you that, do you?- this is most certainly not work for me! No, it's an _honor_... Plus a good way to show the world my latest design..."

"...Which will be most successful without me forcing you to make it so soon," Anzu interrupted.

"Oh, don't say that," Brad said, batting Anzu's comment away with this hand again. "Anzu, you'll be doing a favor for me. It'll add another point to my good name. A favor, Anzu, a favor."

"A favor?" Anzu repeated. She exhaled loudly and put one hand on her hip, the other on her forehead. "Gosh, don't call it that. You're making me feel bad."

"No, dear Anzu," Brad repeated, dramatic once again. It is a favor, just one, **one** favor!"

"And besides," Anzu retorted. "This dress isn't supposed to come out for a long while if you don't even have a prototype yet. Why present it so early?"

"Well," Brad said, taking the pen that Anzu was originally going to grab and starting to fiddle with it, "I decided that I'm not going to produce it for the world after all."

"?" was Anzu's reply.

"I'm going to make just one. Uno," Brad said. He clicked the pen on the table for emphasis.

"Why didn't you say earlier...?"

"Um," Brad said slowly. "I just decided recently."

"But-"

"Nope, it's not an inconvenience! I have come to a conclusion that I will make you a dress, and if you don't accept it, shame on you!"

"But I-"

"Ok, let's bring you here," Brad cut Anzu off and led her briskly over to another room.

"Step up here..." he pushed Anzu over to a spot with an "x" on the floor.

"Brad-"

"Tape measure! I need the tape measure!" Brad called out. One of the women in the room took a tape measure out of her work apron's pocket. Other women in similar uniforms also rushed over and swarmed around Anzu, holding her arms up as Brad and others measured Anzu's body. Anzu's protest ere no use.

"I think-"

"Thirty-six! Mei, you have that written down? Thirty six!" A woman on the side wrote something down on the clipboard that she was holding. "Thirty six inches, got it," she replied loudly over the bustle(or in Anzu's opinion, a brouhaha).

"Brad!"

"Sachiko, get Miss Michiyo Fujiwara on the phone. I need to talk to her."

"Um-"

"So that's 595-7829. Same area code."

"Brad? I-"

"Hmm... where to get that _jewel_... I'll probably use topaz... or maybe I can sheer a large pearl.. or Sinhalite, perhaps? Oh! Helioder! Problem is, where do I get that?..."

Anzu had a sudden epiphany. She obviously wasn't going to be able to stop Brad from making the dress. And if she was going to wear it, it might as well be... special. If she was going to be the proud model for the only dress of this kind, her and the garment ought to enhance each other's beauty, right? Well, Anzu was of the opinion that Topaz wasn't really... her. She had a much more appropriate shade in mind.

"Azure."

Brad stopped mid-sentence and turned to look at Anzu. "What?" he asked.

"Azure blue," Anzu repeated.

"Azure? But that'll stand out!"

"Make it paler, I don't know. But make it azure." Seeing Brad dubious, Anzu added, "That'll be the agreement, if you insist so much on making that dress."

"But-"

"Thank you," Anzu said, dipping her head and revealing a small, mischievous grin. "That's all the measurements, I presume?" The women nodded their heads. "Alright, I'll drop by tomorrow, at... four thirty. See you then!" She walked out, her head held high. "Oh," she said, sticking her head back in. "Thanks again, Brad." She stuck her head back out of the room, and walked away. Her grin turned into an almost sprightly smile.

* * *

That content smile faded quickly the moment Anzu stepped out of the ValentineHart building. The infamous press swarmed about. They were getting really annoying. But then again, were they ever anything else? 

Anzu hurried back into the safety of the building, taking out her cell to dial for her chauffeur. She really needed to get in the habit of getting the limo to come before stepping outside.

After exactly seven minutes, Anzu saw a glimpse of black through the crowd and knew her ride had come. She took a deep breath like she always did before going out the doors in a state like this. "You can do this!" She walked out.

Anzu felted like she was back in six grade, when all the eighth graders would push the younger kids around in the lunch lines. It was the same thing; except, of course, there were the flashing light bulbs, sweaty reporters, and all the attention focused on her.

It was good she didn't have stage fright.

Anzu ignored the blur of people. They always looked the same to her-- girls: long or short hair, maybe in pigtails; large eyes, usually too much make-up and perfume. Guys: spiky hair, lean bodies, cologne sometimes, and always wearing a belt for some reason. Reporters: the most _annoying_ voices asking ridiculous questions that were _way_ too nosy. Of course, there was occasionally a quiet girl on the side shyly asking for an autograph, and maybe one or two boys that Anzu gave a longer glance than necessary. And rarely, there'd be some nice(r) reporters... Usually those came to her when all the excitement died down(which was more often than not a week or so... Anzu was counting the days). Whenever one showed up in pandemoniums such as this one, Anzu would automatically focus her attention on that person.

But the person who caught Anzu's eye at the moment wasn't a reporter. It was a strikingly handsome man with black hair and blue eyes. However, it wasn't his attractiveness that drew her eyes. In fact, she didn't even notice. It was his face, his _eyes_... As odd as it sounded, they looked like-

"Yoshi," Anzu whispered.

The man stood about ten feet away from her, in the crowds, near the limo. When she was about to get into the car, he stealthily handed her a folded piece of paper. She turned to look at him, confused, but he was nowhere to be seen, and the door to the limo had closed, with her inside.

When the car began to speed up, Anzu opened the slip of paper, and was puzzled at the three-lettered word she read: "vet".

"Where would you like to go?" Ron, her chauffeur, asked, bringing Anzu out of her thoughts.

"Umm... let's stop by Milano's. I'm going to get an espresso," Anzu suggested. When they got there, Anzu went into the café(with her oh-so-useful disguise sunglasses) herself. As she waited patiently in line, she heard someone call out, "Miss Mazaki!" Luckily, no one seemed to hear the last name over the hustle and bustle of the successful and crowded café... that is, no one but Anzu. She turned and gasped a little. In front of her, panting as if he had run to catch up, was the man who Anzu had seen only minutes before.

* * *

"Gah, I'm such a klutz!" the man, who Anzu learned was named Toya, said for about the fifth time. He had insisted on taking their two ordered drinks over to sit at an outside table by the windows... And had spilled a little onto the grown. Again. "Oh, that's ok!" Anzu replied, cheerfully taking the drinks out of Toya's hands and sitting down at the table. Toya followed suit, and they began to converse animatedly. The drinks slowly stopped swishing around in their respective cups. 

Over the past ten minutes, Anzu had learned a lot about this man sitting across from her. His name was Toya Saruwatari. He was currently getting a Masters Degree at Tokyo U, and had a job as a waiter. Which was quite ironic, considering that he had spilled their drinks countless times just getting to the table.

Toya owned three pets, all of which were cats. It had been Yoshi, the youngest of his three, that had almost gotten run over; that was the same blue-eyed white cat that Anzu had saved ten days ago.

"So I had been searching for you all this time, trying to find a way to contact you and thank you," Toya went on. "I finally found you at the ValentineHart Building. I slipped you that note... You got it, right?"

"This?" Anzu asked, taking the slip out of her pocket. "It says 'vet'... I didn't get that, really."

"'Vet?' That note's supposed to be in my pocket!" Toya dug his hand into his pocket, with a confused and worried face expression.

Anzu smiled a little. This was the first time she had actually seen him still, so close. He had a baby face, with his hair kind of flopping over his eyes. She noticed slight dimples-- many girls must have fallen for him. And Anzu couldn't blame them. His clumsy, honest personality was lovable.

"Oh, here it is! Hm, it's supposed to say 'vet' on this paper, not yours..." Toya unfolded the note in his hands. "Oh shoot! I was supposed to give you this one..." Toya showed her. The noter3ead, "Please come to Milano's café ASAP. It's important."

"I know, it's not very convincing," Toya said, flustered, "But I had to do it in the spur of a moment, and I thought you just might come. And you did! But only by coincidence."

"But I came, and that's what matters, right?" Anzu giggled. Toya smiled. "Oh," she went on, "and here's the vet slip. Do you still want it?"

"Yeah, it'll help me remember Yoshi's appointment at the vet on Saturday," Toya replied. He reached over the receive the paper. While his arm came back, he knocked his glass of coffee over, all over his shirt. "Oh shoot!" Toya exclaimed. He quickly stood up, hurriedly wiping his shirt with some napkins.

Anzu also got up(fast reflexes) and wiped Toya's shirt with the leftover napkins. Luckily, the stain was quite small, albeit dark. "Oh no! Let me get it off!"

"No, really, I'll do it! It's no problem, I swear..."

"Wait, don't do it like that! You men really are clueless! It's much easier if you do it like THIS..."

"AHAHA! Not there, it tickles!" Toya suddenly yelped. She looked at him strangely for a moment and then went back to cleaning.

Anzu was too focused on getting out the stain to notice the almost arcane shadow that was cast over them for a moment. Then, it was gone.

* * *

As Kaiba's limo passed down one of the lively streets in downtown Domino, Kaiba relaxed in the black leather seats. "Where to, sir?" his chauffeur asked Kaiba politely. 

"Milano's," he replied gruffly. The café was the best by far in town, and was very famous in the area. The only time Kaiba didn't get his coffee from there was when he went on trips, and _still_ only when it was international.

They stopped at the crowed and popular café . Schultz, the chauffeur, got out of the car to get the coffee. The limo was parked by the curb next to the café ; Kaiba made the window go down a little for some fresh air. He picked up the newspaper sitting next to him to read. One of the side columns of the first page said: "Kaiba and Anzu: Secret Relationship?" He snorted. They were still at those ridiculous rumors? Kaiba turned to the Business section.

---Five Minutes Later---

"What's taking him so long?" Kaiba muttered. Usually it was boom, go in, go out, and the limo would drive away with Kaiba and coffee and all.

He cursed and got out of the car. Casually walking into the café, he noticed with satisfaction that (1) the place was too crowded to notice the presence of and gawk at _the_ Seto Kaiba; and (2) Schultz was walking toward Kaiba, with coffee in hand. "Sorry," he said. "Long lines."

Kaiba merely nodded, and accepted the coffee. He took a sip while they walked out the door. He almost spit it back out when he saw what he saw.

Anzu Mazaki was standing there, and a tall man was facing her, his back on Kaiba. Anzu's face was all red and flustered, and her hands were on the man's shirt. From the quick movement of her fingers, Kaiba assumed that she was _taking the man's shirt off. **In a public place.**_

"Oh no! Let me get it off!" that slutty brunette said breathlessly.

"No, really, I'll do it! It's no problem, I swear..." Kaiba heard the other man reply hastily.

"Wait, don't do it like that! You men really are clueless! It's much easier if you do it like THIS..."

"AHAHA! Not there, it tickles!"

Kaiba came to a dead stop, not hiding his stare. Schultz, who was oblivious to this all, said, "Sir?" Kaiba noticed that his chauffeur was already at the limo with the door open. Realizing he had ceased walking when seeing Mazaki, Kaiba quickened his pace, and got in the car in a flash. The door quietly clicked shut, and the limo glided off.

"What the-!" Kaiba cursed to mid-sentence. For once, he was in too much shock to be coherent. Why the **HE** was Mazaki _there_, doing _that_! All evidence pointed to it- the flustered face, the hands on the man's chest, everything.

_Now look who's flustered_, an all too familiar voice said smugly.

"It's you," Kaiba stated flatly. He had stopped denying his conscience's presence, since it was basically inevitable.

_Uh huh_, it said. _Also known as Conscie._

"Shut up," Kaiba muttered.

_So, what's it like to have serious competition over your lover?_ It asked.

"She's not my lover," he responded all in one breath. "And-"

_How does it feel_, it went on, _to see her doing something like_ that _with someone other than you?_

"What! I don't even care!..."

_So why are you still thinking about it?_

"Because they made no business of hiding it! They have no shame! Just, just doing that just, right in the _middle_ of a _café_!"

_It?_ The conscience repeated innocently. _What's 'it'?_

"You know what I mean."

_What? Sex?_

"No! Nooo..."

.silence.

"Why am I being so gullible?" Kaiba muttered to himself. "As dumb as she is, that woman wouldn't just be doing that outside, for all the world to see. For all I know, she may have been helping ht e guy into his coat."

_Flustered flustered flustered_, the conscience sang. _Cherry red face..._

I don't care!" Kaiba snarled aloud. He did so with such force that the conscience went quiet... for the moment.

This was ridiculous. He really, _really_ did not care. Kaiba pressed his head against the tinted car window, looking outside but not seeing. He did NOT care, he did NOT. He never did, he never would; it was practically written in stone.

The only thing Kaiba wanted to do now was to get these silly thoughts out of his head... and also to get the burning sensation off his chest. He had never -or rarely- felt this way before... this frustrated fire inside of him had never alighted... Until now.

Not even noticing he had done so, Seto Kaiba let out a low growl.

* * *

OI! I just _had_ to add that last line. Tee hee, naughty little me. - But don't worry, I won't match our two fav characters up _that_ easily... 

Sorry... this chapter didn't come out as I planned; I'm not exactly satisfied, but hey, what can I say? I haven't updated in a month!

Anonymous ppl, please review! And you ppl with pen-names, you guys do so, too.

By the way, if you guys read other people's reviews for my story, you may notice 'Star'. She's pretty critical about my stuff(GRAMMAR)... but don't worry, she's not some meanie or anything. She's actually my school friend... I feed her my story though a "filter". In other words, I change the names, the title, everything... because I'm shy about my school friends reading my stuff. I know, I'm a horrendous friend.

Speaking of reviews!

**Mischiefmagnet**: Yayy! You better savor the IC while it lasts... If I write this other story that I'm planning(Full House), the characters will be totally OOC...--" Ha ha, I wonder what it'd be like to be stuck in an elevator... On the other hand, I don't want to know. Lol **amberblood**: Aw, I'm sorry... As you can see, the party isn't in this chap! But it will definitely be in the next one-- I promise! **KeikoGurl**: lol! I glomp you back! Yeah, hopefully, in like 20 years, Anzu and Kaiba will be the old married couple, not just the pigeons... **Living Arrow**: Yeah, I always love reading elevator scenes! I agree that it's pretty clichéd... But that doesn't matter if it's written well! . **Hedwig-the-MilleniumOwl**: Alrighties, I better memorize those Japanese greeting things! I guess when I wrote Ch 5, it was _kind_ of afternoon... Ah, whatever. **DKRaven**: Ha, I was actually thinking about making Kaiba drunk again... But then I thought it might be a bit repetitive. Yayy, I'm glad that I was able to make you laugh! I love making people happy! - **Gauri92**: I'm so sorry for updating late:bow bow bow: WAHH... And I updated late this time, too. :sob: lol I'm glad that you liked the chapter, though! **Firevixen73**: Yeah, no pain no gain, right?... Ok, maybe I'm giving Anzu _too_ much pain... Aw, I feel bad now. **seguha**: I'm glad that you enjoyed my story so far! **Crystallyne**: Yeah, I loved writing the elevator thing... I'm glad you liked it! **kagome1316**: Aw... Thank you! It makes me so warm when you say that... (Even though it isn't true...) I bet your stories are a million times better than mine! **RavenluvsBB**: Ha, thank you! I actually got the cat idea from a manga called "Alice 19th"... (It's a good series, by the way...) Except Alice saves a bunny instead! **Desert's Dream**: I'm glad that you like my story enough to update it! Sometimes I'm afraid that people don't want me to continue writing stories... I'm always afraid of that; but I guess you're not one of those people!- **A Devil In Heaven**: Ha, I loved the "complete dork" thing, too. I also think it's pretty funny! **Nafaria**: Yeah, I just love writing awkward situations... They're so fun to write.. especially with Anzu and Kaiba! **PretJb4eva**: Aw, thanks! Yeah, azureshippers unite! **Star**: Tehe, I'll try to make less grammar mistakes in the future then, k? It shouldn't really be that big a problem now, because now I have my awesome editor!

O.O Gah... look at the size of that paragraph...

Okies, that's all for now! I'll write Ch 7 ASAP! (That's a total lie...) Please review! Compliments will be treasured, constructive comments considered, flames cried over. Until next time, bye!

Love,

Ambiance-Dream


	7. Itadakimasu!

Hi everyone! Hehe, sorry for not updating in a very very LONNNG time... But what do you know, I'm alive and out of my hibernation.

Soo, what made me not update in so long a time? Um, well lately I've been devoting all my time to costumes for anime conventions... I am now an official cosplay freak. ANIME CONS ARE SOO COOL! I went to one in J-town in San Francisco(I dressed up as Summoner Yuna from Final Fantasy X; check my profile for links to my pictures!), and I was SOO close to meeting **Azurite**! TT Oh well, there's always next year.

Oh, and if anyone is going to the FanimeCon '06 in May this year, TELL ME! Because I'm going with my friends on Saturday and Sunday. 3 Look out for a **Hinata Hyuga** from Naruto, k? That's who I'm gonna be. X3

Alright, enough about my life, let's get on with the story.

This following chapter isn't too long, but it's not extremely short, either. I'm content with how it came out, although it could definitely be better. It was fun writing it (over such a long span of time... --u)

BTW, "Itadakimasu" means "Let's eat" in Japanese. I think. And there are a lot of honorifics used... Like "-san" (Mr./Mrs.), "-chan"(used affectionately for girls) and "-kun"(used for guys). I use a lot of FANGIRL JAPANESE X3 lol... "Fangirl" Japanese(since it's not my first language and all those technicalities) in this chapter, so beware.

Plus... I've decided to use Japanese names for all of the characters since our two protagonists have their names already in this language. Sudoroku-san is Yuugi's grandpa, BTW. If I misuse any of them (I'm not very familiar with the Japanese version), please tell me. Thanks!

Big thanks to **A Devil in Heaven** for correcting the Final Fantasy glitch for me. :) How embarrassing, considering that I'm (now) a huge Final Fantasy fan... Especially of Rinoa. And a big thank you soo MUCH to **mischiefmagnet**, **JAL** and **Azurite** for beta'ing for me! I don't know where I'd be if it wasn't for you three:cheers:

Special Note to **mischiefmagnet**-- Sorry for not waiting for your final beta, I was too eager to post this! But you helped me along the way, so you've done more than enough. Thanks:hugs:

And if anyone else wants to help beta Chapter 8, feel free to contact me!

RECAP: It's six years after Battle City. Anzu Mazaki, now a model and dancer who recently returned from New York, has accepted a job at Kaiba Corp as their poster girl. She thought she'd barely see the great, annoying, egotistical(at least that's how she remembered him) Seto Kaiba during her job, but she was proved oh so wrong. And now, Anzu had been thrown into a dinner party with him in celebration of the release of a new chain of Kaiba Corp products... How will this turn out?

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything here but my insanity.**

**Anywhere But Here**

**Ch 7: Itadakimasu!**

_Anzu sat upon a beach in the moonlight, the quiet ripple of ocean water and foam lazily lapping at her bare feet. The white sand was perfect-- clean and not sticking to Anzu's warm skin._

_A little gull elegantly glided to her side, cawing softly but persistently. Anzu smiled faintly and almost reached out to touch it, when it snapped at her and jerked back, yanking an azure amulet from her hand. She hadn't noticed that she held it until now, but then realized that it was... Very important to her. She had to get it back!_

_The seagull flew inland. Anzu scampered after it, running to catch up. The beach softly melted into black behind her as the sound of the waves receded, but she did not noticed. She could only think of that stolen amulet._

_They entered a tropical forest. The bird was quite far away, but Anzu could still see it. Oddly, her feet did not hurt, despite her fast pace._

_The gull disappeared right as Anzu broke into a clearing. Instead of that annoying bird, a white cat sat calmly, licking its paw. It acknowledged Anzu's presence slowly by staring at her hard with his penetrating, azure eyes. With an almost-human huff, it got up and lazily walked into the line of trees, melting into the darkness._

_Anzu followed suit, passing through a wet veil of leaves, to find herself in a large, grandeur room that looked nothing suspiciously like a ballroom she had been to in New York. It was in quite an uproar, with the many people inside, running around... It appeared to be a huge, chaotic feast. There were people scampering about with baskets of exotic breads and fruit atop their heads. Children with long, black hair were laughing and playing everywhere, adding to the confusion. Anzu could almost smell the excitement and simple joy of what seemed to be a party..._

_Yet she could feel something lurking somewhere. At the corner of her eyes, Anzu could sense something watching her, yet when she turned, there was nothing but the twinkling of bells and laughter. There were some things that were off... Like strange shadows and the lack of them, and tingling sensations she felt on her skin. She felt a mix of feelings... It was like a contrast, hot pink and cream, dazzling city versus a silent storm..._

_...Yes, that's what it was. A silent storm was brewing, yet she didn't know from what or why. And she turned._

_Amid the brouhaha, there was a silent, dark throne at the head of the room. It was occupied by a man, with shadows dancing upon him. He sat coolly, watching everything with a calm eye. There was a mysterious glint in those pools of dark azure... A cryptic smirk rested upon his long face. Handsome black silk covered his build and elegant body. Gold embroidery graced the black; it was weaved into intricate designs that were works of art by themselves._

_The man's eyes caught Anzu's, and his dark smile widened. Anzu fidgeted nervously, braving herself to not cower from his intimidating gaze. She thrust her chin higher and stared right back. They continued to stare at one another, blue locked with blue, for what could have been a mere moment or an hour or more. Finally, the man gave the briefest little raise of his chin toward Anzu, which was, apparently a signal to all the people swarming around. Without warning, they all rushed up to her simultaneously, and she was immediately crushed by the smothering arMs. and limbs. She gasped at the impact, but was rewarded with an elbow in the mouth, and she jerked back in surprise. The shorter people crowded around her tugged at her clothes, and everyone else nudged her frantically in one direction as if they were on a time limit. She stumbled along at their urges, trying to hold onto something for support but finding nothing. She felt their skin against her, and tried to peek about the bobbing heads, but the only thing visible was a massive sea of shouting humans._

_After some time, Anzu was roughly set down in a chair. She had lost sense of direction... What the heck were they doing? Someone immediately tightened her chest with a corset, and Anzu looked down to notice for the first time that she was now wearing a black dress-- not the kind for a funeral, but one for some formal event. It appeared so innocently elegant, but on further inspection, the dress was made of a tight black leather. Anzu realized that it was not a dress, but rather held only the appearance of one-- the part below the waist flared out into ripples, and was actually a cloak over tight black pants that were squeezed neatly between her bare skin and tall black boots. The top of the 'dress' was also skin-tight, and held no real design, although the complete black fabric came to a low cut while the upper part of her chest was covered with a material similar to fishnet. Sleeves that began above Anzu's elbows drifted out in lazy curves, that would give the costume a carefree ambiance, yet tight black arm-belts prevented this dreamy vibes from being let out. There was golden embroidery in the designs of a dragon running up the side of the outer cloak... And they matched the man's._

_That man. He sat in that great throne of his... _Why did he have a throne, anyways? _Anzu thought hazily. _It's not like he's some king or whatever...

_Then it struck her. Of course he was a king! In all his silk finery, his powerful throne.. Wait, but did that mean-?_

_The people flocked off to sit down at their tables and return to their merry feasting while some danced off to get more food. They spoke excitedly in some foreign tongue, pointing and waving at Anzu. A few ushered the woman to her feet, gently but firmly pushing her toward-.Toward the **man**.. Wait, but did that mean... No! That did that mean she was **QUEEN**-?_

* * *

Anzu woke, her face beaded with sweat. The clock glared a blazing red 8**:43 AM**. Slowly, she sat up, putting her head in her hands sleepily. What had her dream been about? She couldn't remember at all. Something very chaotic and random... Hmm. And a cat, she recalled. Yes, there was a blue-eyed cat. Like Yoshi! She grinned. 

An image of a dark throne flashed in her mind. _A throne...? Oh yeah, there was a dark-haired man on the throne..._ Anzu thought hazily. _Maybe it was Toya... Or Honda, maybe. They both have dark hair. Kaiba?_

Anzu paled, but quickly reassured herself that it couldn't him. After all, even though they had been definitely seeing more of each other lately because of her job, it didn't mean that the two were friends of any sort. She groaned and lied down again, flopping her hand onto her nightstand. She winced as her knuckles clashed with the wooden surface and hissed in frustration. Finally, she stumbled out of bed.

_Then who was it?_ Anzu pondered as she washed her face in the bathroom. An image of Kaiba flashed in her mind once again, and Anzu threw her towel into the sink. She sat down on the edge of her bathtub. This was getting frustratiing... _It wasn't him, it's NOT HIM!_ she silently screamed. With that, Anzu stormed out of the bathroom, face-towel forgotten.

"Lovely as always," Mai said admiringly as she slowly scanned the various photos of the model set out on a desk. For once, she wasn't complimenting yourself.

"Thanks, but no," Anzu retorted as she sat down to relax, downing a bottle of water. They had just finished an exclusive photo shoot that Brad Languino had insisted on. When Anzu had first seen what was to be her party dress, she had been utterly speechless. Brad wasn't famous for his work for nothing. The dress was even more breathtaking than the sketch Anzu saw; moreover, it had been custom-made to fit and match Anzu. She and that dress were quite a pair, she had to admit. They had designed it a few days ago completely on the spot, after Anzu had stumbled upon the pattern when she had been choosing a dress for the party. It was a complete replica of the ballroom dress worn by Rinoa of the video game Final Fantasy VIII(AN: I don't own it, shut up) that was very popular in Japan at that time. Brad had previously gotten permission from the company producers, Square Enix(AN: Not mine) to make the dress, and Anzu had been given the honor of showing it off to the world. The dress was quite simple-- a cream halter top dress with a satin hem and an modest azure stone set where the straps connected to the dress in the front. It flowed quietly to Anzu's knees and swished whenever the girl moved.

"Marvelous," Brad said with a flourish of his hand while playing with the edge of yet another one of his colorful scarves around his neck with his other. "This first set of pictures are being uploaded onto a computer as we speak, so we can look at them in a few moments..."

"Hey, would you mind if I looked at them later? I kind of have an urgent appointment to go to. Sorry," Anzu said in a rush.

Brad looked up. He put on a show of exaggerated disappointment. "But Anzu, we still have a few more pictures to take!" he exclaimed in his heavily accented Japanese. "That appointment cannot possibly be even more important than this!" Anzu sighed. Brad was also famous for his stubborn streak.

"Brad..." Anzu looked at Mai helplessly.

Mai gently took Brad to the side. "Hun, Anzu's appointment is solely for preparing for the party and it's with me. And you know how impatient I can be..." she purred, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"Why, of course, Mai," Brad said hastily. He turned to Anzu, who hadn't heard a single word. "You go now and change, dear." And with that, he flew off to look at the photos.

"What was that all about?" Anzu said curiously.

"Hm?" Mai said innocently. "Oh, nothing. Now, go change, just like that gentleman said."

Anzu thought she heard him swear under his breath in Italian.

* * *

Yamashita-san was a... unique man. He was obsessed with the color purple, as was apparent in his completely violet attire. He was tall and broad-shouldered, and had long, dark brown hair that was probably curly(although it looked like the man had tried to straighten it with no avail), because, when he tied it into a ponytail(which was always), it busheled up to the middle of the man's back like a squirrel's tail. A very **fat** squirrel's tail. 

The man was in his early thirties, and was the head of some minor department in Kaiba Corp. He claimed to take his job very seriously, but rumors begged to differ. Many young women called him a pervert, and nobody(not even him) denied that. It was no wonder rumors went around that Seto Kaiba was planning to fire him soon... The only reason Yamashita-san had such a high job in the first place was because of his clever mind, which he obviously used for the wrong reasons on too many occasions.

It was he that planned the constant parties, and it was he that seemed the most upbeat and enthusiastic about this most recent one.

"Hello, hello," the man exclaimed happily as the guests entered the "Ice Crown" building. It was loud and crowded as usual; the party planners(I mean, party planner) never bothered to rent the whole building, because it'd cause too much disruption for other people that visited the club. Also, the people there never gawked at the guests, unlike the typical Domino citizen, who never got tired of screaming idiotically whenever they saw a famous -albeit local- figure. The clubbers had gotten used to Kaiba Corp's presence in the building.

Instead, Yamashita-san usually rented the entire restaurant, since it was only other guests on the same floor that could disrupt them, since the clubbers were all on the first floor.

The dinner parties themselves actually took place in the small restaurant that the club had created. It was surprisingly high-class, and overlooked the dance floor from the second floor balcony. The rest of the restaurant was shut away from the club by a translucent glass wall, and was relatively quieter than the floor below, although the muffled music did pound a little upstairs. It was quite questionable on why the restaurant had been built on top of a club, but knowing the ideas of modern Japanese designers these days...

The "Ice Crown" building was actually built on a hill, so at the back of the building, there was another, smaller entrance to the restaurant, and eventually the club. It was here that Anzu Mazaki made her entrance to the party.

"Why, good _evening_," Yamashita-san visibly brightened when Anzu came through the doors. "Mazaki-san, it's a such a _pleasure_ to meet you. You're more beautiful in life than in pictures... And that dress is _astounding_..." Anzu noticed uncomfortably that he didn't bother to disguise his blatant gaze roaming all over her form-- undoubtedly he was imagining what she would look like without that 'astounding dress' on. She blinked. Did he just lick his lips? **Oh god...** Anzu smiled tightly at him, and then said stiffly, "Nice to meet you too, Yamashita-san," but he grabbed her arm as she attempted to walk away and whispered in her ear, "Just call me Hubert."

Anzu nodded and said, "I see. Well, um, that's a very... nice name." To her relief, he stood back... Then grinned slowly at her.

She walked as fast as she could away from the disgusting man. He was horrible... Well, no shit, Sherlock.

Anzu threw away all of her formalities once she sighted Itoe Niimi, her friend. "Does Hubert sound like a very sexy name to you?" she murmured with a straight face while sitting down casually beside her.

Itoe coughed and looked disdainfully at Hubert. "Eww, Anzu-san, you don't like him, right?"

"Don't worry, I'm not," Anzu laughed. "But I mean, he's such a turn **on**..." She almost choked on her words as she feinted lust.

They both craned their heads around to catch a glimpse of Yamashita-san. He caught their looks and mistook it for lusty gazes and returned it hungrily. The two girls quickly turned back around.

"Loser..." Anzu mumbled and they burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter.

"I can't believe Ken Takigawa mistook that immature little excuse of a girl as possible working material for Kaiba Corp," a cold voice sneered behind them. Itoe gawked when she saw whom the voice belonged to, but Anzu didn't need to look to know that it was Seto Kaiba. She also didn't need to think hard to know that he was referring to not both of them, but _only_ her with his little insult.

Anzu turned to face him anyway. "Well, this immature little excuse of a girl **got** the job, didn't she? Moreover, this immature little excuse of a girl just happens to be one of the most well-known people in the-"

"-Male world, I know," Kaiba interrupted evenly.

Anzu blinked. "_Excuse me?_" she exclaimed, her voice rising.

"You heard me." He feigned indifference, although he strangely felt bitter at the thought of Mazaki's popularity. He ignored that feeling easily. "Flaunting yourself around, hoping for some attention. Frankly, it's pretty pathetic."

He was pleased to see that she was red with fury. It was amusing to watch a flushed and speechless Mazaki. Some things never changed.

"Well, just because you're ignored by males doesn't mean that you should take your frustration out on me," Anzu scoffed, trying to mask her fury.

"Don't try to hide it," Kaiba went on in a cold voice as if he had never heard her implication that he was gay. He smirked. "Not that you even bother to. After your little... scene with that man yesterday at the coffee shop... I never knew you could sink so low."

"Don't spit out bull and make up that crap," Anzu shot back. Kaiba definitely **was** crazy. "because I have no idea what you're talking about ."

"Of course you don't," Kaiba said sarcastically. "You were just standing ever so close to that man because your intentions were so innocent, putting on a show for everyone to see, weren't you?" Her vision blurred a little with tiny, unnoticed tears when her eyes unexpectedly clashed with his steely gaze. Anzu fidgeted nervously, bracing herself not to cower from his intimidating gaze. She thrust her chin higher and stared right back, despite her embarrassment from his previous comment.

Whoa. Where...?

_Where is this from? Where is this from?_ Anzu thought frantically as she suddenly broke eye contact with the tall man. It was almost like deja vu. Wait, it **was** deja vu! The dark throne... The cryptic smirk... But that meant her dream this morning had really been about-

"So it is true," Kaiba muttered. Anzu looked up. She'd figure that all out later.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. Just your habit of undressing men in the public, that's all," Kaiba said in an icy voice. Anzu's jaw dropped open. Before she could reply, Yamashita-san's voice interrupted as he butted into their little conversation. "The party will be beginning shortly... Why don't we take our seats? They're up on the second floor, overlooking the dance floors." He walked to Anzu's right as if to escort her, but Kaiba was in the way. Itoe trotted up to Anzu's left side. To her relief, Yamashita-san had nowhere to go to be near Anzu. He huffed a little and walked away to their reserved tables. She was shocked to find out that she was also relieved that Kaiba stood beside her... She rathered Kaiba stood next to her than Yamashita-- and that was saying 

something.

Kaiba wasn't walking with the two girls, but it just happened that they were walking along side each other to their area. Even with the loud music roaring in the background, there was an awkward silence. Not that they were expecting to talk anyways, but it was still weird.

Immersed in their own separate thoughts, Anzu remembered the last insult Kaiba had shot at her. _Oh, nothing. Just your habit of undressing men in the public, that's all._ Unlike his other remarks, he had been quiet in that one. Did that mean that Kaiba actually cared?

_Heck no. He's incapable of that,_ Anzu assured herself. The thought never crossed her mind again.

As they approached the table, Anzu saw that there was a medium-sized group of people standing around and talking in a semi-casual manner. There was a stout man that she recognized to be the head of a company that distributed Kaiba Corp's products, who was conversing with anther person with some powerful title, probably. Three young women flocked around a man who seemed to be still in his college years. Anzu smiled. He certainly attracted many girls and probably even had his own fangirl club in high school, with his boyish face and jet black hair. The man looked quite classy in his black suit with gray stripes and a lavender tie tucked underneath.

He turned around. "Ah, older brother!" the man said, his face brightening. "I thought that you weren't going to come tonight... But here you are."

Kaiba, letting a long, drawn-out sigh escape. He ran his hand through his chocolate-colored hair. "It's not like I want to be here..."

The raven-haired haired man smirked. "You sound like me when I was younger."

"I'm not complaining."

"Of course not!"

Anzu was slightly surprised, but she didn't allow this to show on her face. This man had called that block of ice 'older brother'; this was _Mokuba_! What had happened to the adorable little boy that she remembered from years ago? He had been replaced with this- this- ladies' man!

Not that she minded.

Anzu shook her head to clear herself of her weird thoughts.

"And who is this beautiful lady you escort?" Mokuba asked, suddenly averting his attention to her. Anzu raised an eyebrow, clearly amused.

"I'm not escorting **her**-" Kaiba began.

"-But even then, I'm insulted that you can't recognize me," she interrupted.

Mokuba also raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Does this face not ring a bell?" Anzu asked, feigning hurt. "Have I changed that much from Battle City?"

Mokuba narrowed his eyes, realizing who she was, yet he began to play along. "Jounouchi?"

"Mokuba!"

"Ok, ok, I know, it's the one and only Anzu Mazaki, isn't it?" He grinned, not waiting for an answer. "It's been a while, Anzu, but of course I'd remember your face; after all, it's plastered on too many magazines and all over the internet."

They launched into an animated conversation about college life as the foursome walked toward the table where they were supposed to meet. Itoe smiled politely and commented where she could; Kaiba stood tall, stiff and silent.

Mokuba was, indeed, attending a university, at Tokyo U, where he was about to start his sophomore year. "I skipped ahead a few years," he explained. However, he still fit working at Kaiba Corp into his busy life time; he had a choice of either becoming Vice President directly for the Kaiba Corp company or President of another major department. Either way, he was spending most of his time studying or working.

"...So it's always a pleasure to find time to go to fun parties and such..."

"Pft, you always go to parties," Seto muttered. It was the first time he had spoken in the conversation.

Mokuba ignored this and went on. "...And I was lucky enough to have time to attend today." He smiled at Anzu.

Everyone seemed to be settling down and drifting toward the three tables, which had thirty-some seats. The plates were all square and clear, which was quite unnerving since the table was also translucent. Navy blue napkins folded in the shape of a crown sat on each plate, and various utensils of both European and Asian origin. Each plate had a little card with a name on it, indicating where each guest sat.

Anzu found her name at the seat by the head of the table; Itoe was seated next to her. Anzu looked out of the corner of her eye at the seat to her right, which was the head. _Please don't let that be Hubert's seat, please don't let that be Hubert's seat_, she prayed. She watched in relief as Yamashita-san sat down at the opposite end. The seat next to Anzu was then suddenly occupied by none other than Seto Kaiba.

A light ringing noise filled the air; it was a wonder that anyone could hear it, considering how the club music was pounding downstairs. But miraculously, everyone heard and swiveled their heads in Yamashita-san's direction.

Hubert was pleased with the sudden attention. He cleared his throat and stood up importantly. As the conversation politely settled, Hubert enjoyed taking his time gazing at each of his invitees. Or more like their chests.

Not the men's chests-- Just the women's.

The silence stretched on.

"If you have nothing to say, Yamashita-san..." Kaiba growled finally. The other guests nodded their heads in agreement.

"Welcome," Hubert said quickly, in what he probably supposed was a deep, grand voice, "to the celebration of the release of the Duel Disk: Unleashed. Today marks the day in which this new device has been released to the world and market.

He shot another long gaze at each of his guests (or at least those with breasts anyway) "With this in mind, I would like to invite you all tonight to enjoy yourselves" he paused for a moment, licking his lips as he gave Anzu a particularly lusty smile, "And please join me as we celebrate all of our fine work."

Anzu raised an eyebrow as she heard Kaiba scoff beside her. "_Our_ fine work?" she heard him mutter quietly.

Ignoring his boss's obvious disinterest, Hubert continued, "So let us dine tonight in honor of our success, and let's toast to Seto Kaiba," -here, Hubert lifted his already filled glass- "for his watchful guidance of the present Kaiba Corp and its future." Everyone lifted their glasses, formally toasting the CEO. The clinking sounded like bells underneath the loud storm of the music downstairs, and the glasses were set down.

There was a small silence and then some of the guests politely clapped.

Everyone began to take the name cards from their plates and open them, so Anzu followed suit. The card listed the courses for the dinner. Her eyes widened as she read the complex descriptions of each dish.

"What's Fragolino Bianco?" Itoe whispered to her, pronouncing the foreign word slowly.

Anzu shrugged her shoulders and whispered back, "I'm not sure, but I think it's some wine from Italy." Anzu peered at the cup she had toasted Seto Kaiba with and pointed.

"I think it's that." Itoe glanced back at the card, looking even more confused.

"I don't even know what I'm drinking," she mumbled in dismay. Anzu quickly stifled back a giggle at Itoe's laments.

"Our chef today is the famous chef and manager of the Ice Crown Restaurant..." Hubert continued. This time, most people tuned him out. Their attention was focused on a man in a classic white chef's suit who had walked to the end of the table near where Kaiba sat.

"...Sim Kung Woo himself," Hubert finished. The Korean man smiled kindly and took a step forward. He had a small dish in his clean hands; it was made of glass and had subtle, pale etchings on the plate's face as design. A small crown made of real ice sat on it, and four jumbo shrimp were artfully arranged in the crown, with red sauce and other additions decorating this first appetizer.

"The Classic Crown", the chef declared in a heavily accented voice. He put the little dish in front of Kaiba and stepped back. Then, servers simultaneously walked forward to place identical dishes in front of each of the other guests.

Everyone turned politely to Seto Kaiba, who murmured formally, "Itadakimasu."

Anzu glanced sideways at Itoe to see if she was confused. Sure enough, Itoe was frantically looking at each utensil, unsure of which to use. "Anzu, which spoon?" Itoe hissed from the corner of her mouth. Anzu looked at her oddly. She herself was originally going to use a fork... It was normal to be unsure of which fork to eat shrimp with, but a spoon?

"Um, I don't think you eat shrimp with spoons, Itoe," Anzu murmured. Itoe looked at her friend. "O-ok, then..."

Anzu took a quick scan over the other people. They were all using forks; Kaiba was eating with black chopsticks which was a daring feat, considering that the shrimp were naked/raw/skinless and dripping with sauce. Anzu narrowed her eyes, having an urge to stick her tongue out at him.

Kaiba, sensing that someone was staring at him, looked up and glared right back at Anzu. In an infuriatingly calm voice, he said, "It's not nice to stare, even if you can't help it. Eat your food."

Anzu blinked. Did he just say that-that- "Agh!" she fumed in a restrained voice. And with that, she picked up her chopsticks and began eating with them with s much force and grace she could muster.

"Whatever," Kaiba said in that same bored tone, sending Anzu into an even greater fury. She began chewing faster and with more ferocity. _Wait, no, slower, Anzu, calm down. He wants to trip you up... Be more elegant and teach that show-off a lesson. You're a dancer, you have that elegance!_ Anzu ate slower and carefully; it was a miracle that nobody had noticed her split-second frenzy...

She turned her head to the left to check if Itoe was now all right in the- '_oh my god'_.

Itoe was eating with her _hands_!

Which is actually fine...

...But not at a _dinner party!_

"Itoe, what are you doing?"

"Not eating with a spoon!"

"There are _forks_!"

"This is easier."

As this incredulous conversation went on in whispers, Anzu concentrated on the horrors of Itoe's etiquette. She didn't even notice that her chopsticks were losing their grip on a piece of shrimp. She didn't even notice that the chunk was hanging precariously over her glass of water. She didn't even notice when the shrimp plunked into it with a splash.

She did, however, notice the water splashing onto her face... which had immediately turned crimson.

Yet _nobody noticed_. Everyone continued eating and still conversing... Anzu looked at her glass to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. Sure enough, the shrimp tail sat at the bottom of the glass, ugly as ever. She looked around again. Nobody was looking at her-- Hubert was staring at some woman, Itoe was still embarrassing herself and Kaiba was smirking at her glass. '_Wait_.'

_'Damn_.'

He gave her an innocent look. Well actually, it wasn't "innocent" (Kaiba's physically and mentally incapable of that), but rather mockingly blank and clearly saying, "What?"

It was pure luck that the servers and head chef came out and swiftly collected the dishes and glasses, because Anzu was about to throw her glass at Kaiba. The water glasses were replaced (thank goodness) and then Sim Kung Woo introduced Appetizer #2.

This dish was clean and simple: tofu. But not just any tofu, mind you. As Anzu read from the card, this dish was made from the best materials in all of Japan. The taste of tofu all depended on the quality of the soy and water used, which made these two ingredients extremely vital. Both were bought at a high price, but worth their cost.

"Kyoto Tofu," Chef Kung Woo announced. He and the servers set down the dishes, and everyone began eating. Anzu picked up her chopsticks (Itoe reached for a spoon) and lifted a bit of tofu to her mouth. It had a light, nutty taste; "a pure delicacy," she heard one of the guests compliment the chef, who smiled and bowed.

After everyone finished, the first course was soon given: "East Meets West", a plate of soba cooked in Italian fashion. Bright sprigs of different herbs decorated the plate and noodles, while other colorful additions added to the flavor of this dish.

Their glasses were also soon filled with a clear wine. "Fragolino Bianco," Yamashita-san said in an almost smug voice. "It's illegal to make in Venice because of its high level of methanol, but we acquired it from a secret source. Most people wouldn't even dream of drinking this stuff. Nectar, it is." Anzu stared at the innocent-looking glass incredulously, and tentatively sipped it. It was gently sweet and delicate, so she drank some more. It actually wasn't half bad.

Anzu picked at her noodles with her chopsticks slowly. She took a small bite and rolled the food deliberately on her tongue. The aroma was complex and fresh-- she could still sense the faint, traditional Japanese fragrance of the noddles resting beneath the French dominance of everything else.

"So rumor is that this new product will bring top sales in the market," a plump man conversed leisurely before taking a delicate bite of his noodles.

Kaiba took his time before answering. "We'll see," he replied simply.

From then on, conversation was issued between the guests and Kaiba about business matters, polite and almost distant. Because she was not an experienced businesswoman, Anzu did not participate very much in the exchange of words. She smiled and nodded when expected, and spoke only to thank the people serving her food.

After first course was cleared from the table, the second was introduced. "Kobe Salmon," Sim Kung Woo voiced. The Yukon River Salmon was world-renowned, because it was arguably the butteriest, richest salmon in the world. The Japanese city of Kobe was one its major customers for the purchase of the fish, but a small fraction of it was sold to the rest of the world. Anzu briefly wondered how much this must've cost Kaiba, and concluded that she did not care.

The servings of every dish were quite small, and she eventually finished her food.

Anzu must have been mentally dozing off, because desert was immediately served. The center of the tables was cleared, and silver fondue pots were placed at the convenience of each guest. A soft gas flame gave off a ambient glow under each pot, warming the metal. The servers slowly poured rich, melted dark chocolate into each bowl over the flame, and Anzu inwardly sighed at the fresh aroma. The servers set two scarlet plates on each side of the table, full of colorful fruits, including some odd white ones in the center. On closer inspection, Anzu realized in curious fascination that they were _strawberries_. "Frutillas Blancas," Itoe dared to whisper to Anzu. "Interesting."

"These," Sim Kung Woo said with a modest gesture at the platters, "are what we call the White Strawberries of Puren. As you know, strawberries legendarily come from Chile, where they were originally snow white. After mixing with a red berry to produce the acidity known in today's strawberries, this fruit was given to the world, and the red dominated the white. But in a little town in Chile, a small handful of farmers still grow these white strawberries, which exist without any acidic taste. I invite you all to taste them yourself either in your chocolate fondue or alone."

Everyone instinctively reached for the peculiar strawberries, gasping a little at the delicate sweetness. Anzu wanted MORE, but since she didn't want to be... rude, she chose another piece of fruit instead, carefully dipping it in the chocolate. She made sure not to let it fall into the bowl, like what had happened with her shrimp.

Anzu had never particularly liked her fruit with any kind of fondue, and stopped dipping it in after that. She quietly nibbled on some honeydew, glancing around the table at the other guests.

She leaned back a little. Her situation was interesting, the woman mused. Here Anzu was, sitting at a table at a dinner party with CEOs and other high-class men and women that dominated the world economy, hosted by none other than her own high school nemesis. And here he was beside her, _eating_. It was amusing to ponder over the strange thought. The only bit that Anzu really knew about this man was the smirking, sneering side of him that made arrogant, snide remarks back in high school. But now, she was quite aware of the fact that their/her present situation was forcing her to see him in another light: as her boss. '_Funny how life changes.'_

"Eep!" Itoe squeaked. Anzu turned and jumped a little. In slow motion, she watched as Itoe's starfruit(it's a fruit) fell from the skewer. Instead of plunking into the fondue bowl, it hit the tablecloth. The girls breathed a sigh of relief. _We're so childish,_ Anzu mentally giggled to herself as she stealthily prodded the starfruit, attempting to get it out and away from the fire. Itoe closed her eyes.

Anzu softly swore as the yellow fruit tumbled toward the candle. She almost lit the metal fork itself on fire, but quickly drew back, luckily drawing no one's attention. But the starfruit was too close to the flame. To Anzu's horror, the fruit's yellow flesh burst tongues of gold as the candle flame pounced down to it.

Itoe shot straight up, and everyone turned to stare at her. Anzu wanted to put her head in her hands and die. "The tablecloth's on fire!" Itoe practically screamed.

This, of course, made everyone alert and rivet their eyes at the object being accused. Sure enough, little flames darted around the tablecloth as the starfruit quickly burned up.

Anzu frantically waved at it, only making it worse. Everyone else rose to their feet, watching the woman as she poured her glass of water on the fire, which was now extinguished. A wave of relief passed through everyone(actually, it was just Itoe and Anzu, really), and both girls felt drained. By the time they had sat down and realized what they had just done, it was too late to take back their actions.

After some awkward amusement and hasty apologies from the staff, the dinner party went on with ease (and smirks form a certain CEO). Anzu tried to make herself as invisible as possible by shrinking down while keeping as much dignity as possible.

Then her phone rang. Normally, Anzu would have been even more humiliated by this, but strangely, she was relieved. After excusing herself (much to Itoe's dismay), she went to the restroom, sinking down onto the couch in the room in front of the actual washroom. Snapping the phone open, she greeted, "Hey, Anzu here."

"Hey, Anzu-chan!" a familiar voice exclaimed.

"Good evening, Jounouchi," Anzu weakly replied. She decided not to tell him that she was at an important party.

"Soo... I was wondering whether you'd like to meet up sometime tonight with the gang," Jounouchi suggested in a friendly tone. "We're gonna go downtown."

_I _am _downtown_, Anzu thought to herself. However, she thought quickly, and took the great opportunity to escape, saying out loud, "Sure, I'll come later. Might be late, though."

'_Because it might be hard to get out of this party.'_

"Great!" Jounouchi grinned, and hung up, just like that. Anzu blinked.

Now for her cover-up story. After coming back to the table and apologizing, Anzu took a deep breath and bit her lip. She slowly walked up to Kaiba, and bent down low to whisper into his ear, "I need to go. There's been an unexpected... crisis, and I really have to leave now." She mentally cursed at the pause she had taken. Kaiba smirked.

"And who are you to excuse yourself like that?" he hissed in reply, cocking his head back toward the girl's head. "Have you humiliated yourself too much so you need to run away?"

Anzu was shocked at his frankness, and immediately shot back, "That's not true!"

Although it kind of was...

Kaiba gave her a piercing gaze and drew out the silence into uncomfortable territory. "Leave if you wish."

Anzu didn't show her surprise, but she was shocked at how easy it was. It didn't seem real... But she had to withdraw. Without another word, she quietly ran out of the building.

As she dashed away, Anzu silently cursed. This was so unlike her... She was never one to back down from a challenge, or anything, at that. And here she was, scrambling away like the little coward she had turned into. What had happened to the Anzu her friends knew and loved?

What the heck, the point was that she had to get out.

She dashed toward the entrance of the restaurant, but it appeared to be very crowded, so Anzu started for the doors on the first floor/club. Bad choice.

No matter how many times she went up and down them, Anzu never got used to the transparent stairs that linked both levels of the club. That was why she always opted to go for the elevators, but she had completely forgotten their convenience in her disarray. She was almost near the end of the ordeal when she tripped-

-And landed in the arMs. of a certain someone.

HUBERT.

Anzu jolted as she inhaled the suffocating cologne, and tugged herself away from Yamashita-san's searching hands. "Hmm, what are you doing down here alone?" he asked in a soft voice. _Oh god, save me_, Anzu prayed to whoever was out there in the clouds. She shot up, trying to smile and shake off the dismay that his hands had stained her beautiful dress. "I'm sorry," she apologized in a tight voice with as much annoying kindness pounded in as she could muster. "I'm **leaving** now."

"Where to?" Yamashita-san continued in his disgustingly husky voice, attempting to lean closer to her.

"AWAY," Anzu choked. _In other words, anywhere but here_, she thought to herself. "Now excuse me." And with a final yank, she tripped her way to the doors.

A blast of hot air hit her, and then she was free-- amid the lively colors known as downtown Domino.

This is a fact: the streets of modern Asian cities are busier in the hours of night than in day. Many little shops and bars opened long after normal work hours, and the city-wide party lasted until the first hints of dawn breaking the next morning. But for now, life went on in bursts of loud sounds and flashing lights.

Anzu slowly traveled in a dazed state through this city she adored. New York was nice, but she had grown up in Domino, America could never replace that.

Strangely enough, she was still hungry. Apparently, the food at the dinner party was really good, but just didn't fill her up... The girl entered an old and popular ramen shop, Ichiraku. She walked up the ramp between a clogged maze of motorcycles parked in the front of the shop, whose whole front wall opened up like a huge door. "Welcome!" a loud, hearty voice rang out before she even sat down. A stout man cheerfully lumbered over, and Anzu grinned. "Hey Ichiraku-san," she greeted her old friend. "I'll have the usual." Mr. Ichiraku briskly nodded his head, accepted the money, and yelled to the metal counter, "One miso ramennn!"

"Yes!" another energetic voice piped. A few other guests came into the shop, and after giving Anzu an apologetic nod for not staying to talk, the man quickly went to greet them. Business was still obviously going well, she could see.

Within mere minutes, a huge bowl of steaming hot ramen was carefully placed in front of Anzu by a waiter, who quickly rushed off to help some other guests. "Itadakimasu," she whispered, snapped her chopsticks, and dug in. The soup was hot with just enough saltiness... That was what ramen shops were renowned for: their broth. And Ichiraku's was by far the best, even against all of the five star restaurants she had eaten at in the past.

After having a few hearty bites and a reasonable amount of ramen, Anzu sat back, putting a hand to her head. She felt so light-headed... It must have been that wine drink back at the party. She silently cursed, and got up, only to sit back down again, her hand against her head beside the huge ramen bowl. _That stuff was strong..._ This was her last thought before lapsing into darkness.

It was almost cute to watch Anzu run out of the club, Mokuba thought as he watched her disappear around the corner. The younger Kaiba looked at his elder brother, who seemed to not even care that Anzu had left. In fact, he looked reasonably better. Itoe looked lost and out of place. Why had she even been invited to the party in the first place? Oh yes, Mokuba recalled, her uncle was the president of some company that Seto was trying to set a deal with. That's why they had given the klutz a Kaiba Corp job when she applied for it, even though there were also other strong candidates for the job to assist Anzu Mazaki.

...And his idle thoughts had trailed back to the girl once again. How she had changed over the past six years! Mokuba had seen her on covers and on the internet, but it was always different in person. After all, her vibrant life could not be entirely captured in a photo. Mokuba's crush on the brunette, which had blossomed and died back when he was younger, became a memory that he reminisced about for a while during dinner that night.

It was quite a far-fetched and absurd idea, but Mokuba believed that the Mazaki could be good medicine for his brother. He seemed so weary of most of the people around him; everyone always just agreed with everything he said, asking no questions and presenting no obstacles. There wasn't any adventure or excitement in life anymore; Seto was not one for a boring life, Mokuba knew. Arguments of ethics and wit were good for the man, and he had been deprived of them lately. And Anzu seemed like the only person around (besides him, of course) who could actually push his brother around, if she really had the motivation.

Soon the dinner quietly dissolved, and was replaced with nonchalant lounging and conversation, interspersed with some dancing. Seto bowed out, as he was obviously not the type to be interested in dance. His brother, in contrast, was much more social amongst the guests. But after ten minutes, even Mokuba's fuse had quickly burnt out, and he became quite bored of the formalities.

And so, with casual spontaneity, Mokuba walked out of the club and restaurant, without telling anyone or giving any reason of his sudden leave. Mokuba Kaiba was an impulsive man-- if he had even the slightest desire to do something, he did it. In a way, manners meant nothing to him. And certainly no one would deny the Kaiba's access to something if he wanted it. It apparently ran in the family.

The man plowed slender fingers through his coal black hair, then slipped his hands into his pockets. Domino. He hadn't been here for a long while... College life at Tokyo U took him away from time and this city. Yet here he was, in the town he grew up in. The place of familiar tastes and smells, with people who had molded into him to become what he knew as friends.

Mokuba decided to pay Yuugi a visit.

Kame Game Shop had moved to the center of downtown Domino recently. Originally, it had been at the edge, but with the rising popularity of Duel Monsters, Kame had to move to the more crowded streets of Japan to keep up with the booming business. Yuugi Mutou and his grandpa(Sudoroku-san) now lived above the store in a small house, as was quite common in Asia, even in less populated areas, too.

The front of Kame Game Shop was like most other family-owned shops in Japan-- modest and clean. A few plastic chairs and a table were set at the front of the shop, under the upper canopy to block occasional rain and hard rays of sunlight. Mokuba shunned away a few stray dogs, and his face lit when he saw Grandpa Sudoroku sitting in the front, reading a book. "Hey, Gramps!" he waved. Sudoroku looked up, and his mouth crinkled into a smile. "Hello, Mokuba, long time no see," was his greeting. "Are you here for Yuugi? They're going out, I think."

Mokuba was about to reply, but was interrupted by a "Gimme dat back!" and a large thump and crash. Honda and Jounouchi tumbled through the doorway, fighting over some object that Mokuba couldn't see. A girl with long, auburn hair stepped out from behind them, giggling. Shizuka's face brightened as she recognized Mokuba, and exclaimed, "Mokuba-kun!" She came over and hugged Mokuba affectionately. Otogi rushed over and gently pried her off of him, mumbling something about protecting her, then smiled and said hello to Mokuba. Ryou, who had been watching TV with Otogi, got up and came over also. Lastly, Yuugi walked down the stairs, greeting Mokuba with surprise and delight, immediately inviting him to go with them for a small dinner. It had been a month since the last time they met up, since that was the last incident in which Mokuba had been in town. He noted some people were missing, and Yuugi explained that Mai was on a business trip. "And Atem?"

Yuugi hesitated, and Jounouchi roared in the background, "HAA! _MINE!_" and popped the object in his mouth. Then he took a little victory lap around an invisible circle. "Duel Monster chocolates," Otogi explained, rolling his eyes.

"Anyhow," Yuugi softly went on, "Atem left a few weeks ago, shortly after Anzu got back. Said he had to see someone in Egypt."

Isis.

"Oh." Mokuba didn't know what to say. Everyone, including Honda and Jounouchi, quieted noticeably. He knew Anzu had been in love with the Pharaoh, which was even more evident once he and Yuugi got their own bodies a few years back. But... But after meeting Isis at Battle City, Atem seemed... Different. Perhaps it was because she sparked up a memory of his ancient life, or maybe it was the sense of familiarity she gave Atem, since she was from Egypt herself. Mokuba hoped that the brunette had gotten over her crush, because it'd only shatter her heart in the end if she hadn't.

"Are we waiting for anyone else?" he quickly changed the subject. Yuugi immediately looked relieved from the awkward tension that had built up, and Mokuba let out a breath of air he didn't notice he had held in. "I called Anzu some time ago, so she'll be coming soon," Jounouchi responded. He peered outside. "Odd, she should be here by now. Anzu's usually prompt." _This is strange_, Mokuba thought. He put together the pieces, realizing that Anzu's interrupting phone call back at the party must have been Jounouchi. And it was perfect timing for her to get away from the dinner party(after her little drama act with the other girl, Mokuba thought with an amused smirk), and escape, explaining her sudden leave. '_Aha.'_

Jounouchi made a few phone calls to Anzu, and eventually left a message, telling her that they'd be out for a late dinner at a certain ramen shop. The group put on their jackets and left in Otogi's car without her.

* * *

It had begun raining. But Seto welcome it with open arms, because he was FREE from the dinner. Finally. Yamashita-san had planned the worst party yet, and the CEO was just glad to be out. He took his limo to Milano's, the only coffee shop the Kaiba bought from. Heck, he could buy the whole store chain if he really wanted to. 

This was almost a routine to Seto-- after a particularly bad experience (namely Yamashita's parties), he'd purge himself of the negative stains of the event with a cup of good coffee. Luckily, the store was almost always open, and even if it wasn't, it wasn't hard to get what he wanted by pulling the manager's strings a little. If Seto wanted something, he got it. Always.

* * *

"Welcome!" a cheerful voice piped as the gang entered a crowded ramen shop they all visited frequently A pretty young woman gave them an apologetic smile, saying, "Sorry, the tables are full right now. You can wait... Unless you'd like to share one of the larger tables with another party?" 

"...All right, then," Otogi answered. Mokuba scanned the crowded shop, and sure enough, no tables were empty. A stout man walked over, saying, "I hope you wouldn't mind a sleeping woman at your table, she just feel asleep... I can't wake her up, so I just left her and her ramen there. Can't disturb my guests." He laughed. "Anzu's such a bright woman, I think she's been just stressed out lately or something... Or just busy. After all, she does have one heck of a job."

The group reacted as one, turning incredulously to their table-to-be and a sleeping form cloaked in a cream dress slumped on the surface. "Anzu!"

* * *

Seto felt reasonably better after buying the coffee, and relaxed as his limo inched through the city traffic. It was always busier at night, which was why Seto tended to avoid working in the evenings in the Kaiba Corp building, but oftentimes it was inevitable. He hated flashing lights. 

The limo was barely budging, and loud honks resonated through the city sounds. The nearby shops on each side of the winding road were all full of people out for a late snack, and the clubs pounded out music so loud that Seto could feel the vibrations.

They eventually reached Ichiraku, a ramen shop that he and Mokuba used to always go to. A few minutes passed, and the limo was still in front of the shop. Being as impatient as the ice block was, the Kaiba finally got out of the car, planning to get some ramen take-out for his brother, who had so kindly disappeared from the party. And anyways, Seto wasn't exactly full, since the dinner servings at the party were so minuscule.

"Welcome!" a cheerful voice piped as Seto entered a crowded ramen shop A young woman gave him an apologetic smile, saying, "Sorry, the tables are full right now. You can wait... Unless you'd like to share one of the larger tables with another party?"

"No, that's all right," Seto replied. "I'll just come next time when it's not so full." After all, Seto did have his own cooks at home who could probably make ramen as good as Ichiraku's. He got back in the limo, which eventually left the city for the Kaiba home.

* * *

"I'll bring her home," Mokuba immediately offered once they sat down. 

"No," Yuugi protested. "You should have to miss dinner just because of this... Here, I'll do it-"

"I'll be fine," Mokuba insisted, waving at the air, "and I've already had dinner. I'm a bit tired, anyways." After Mokuba's persistent stubbornness, the gang finally agreed with reluctance. "Take care of her," Jounouchi called. Mokuba nodded and left, with a sleeping Anzu in tow.

Mokuba took the taxi back, since it was faster than calling his own limo. When the taxi driver asked for their destination, he realized with a jolt that he didn't know where Anzu lived now...

Which meant that there was nowhere for the poor girl to go. Hmm. Anzu could always stay at the Kaiba mansion for the night... There was nothing wrong with having a guest, right? After all, she was a family friend.

Hehe.

The mansion was quiet but not dark when he (or rather, they) got there. In fact, most of the lights were on, and maids bustled about, cleaning the house in a tidy manner. Mokuba took off his shoes and put on house slippers, careful not to drop Anzu during these one-handed actions. She was surprisingly light, the man noted, although that was obvious from the fact that she was a dancer and had a slim frame.

After explaining to the maids who the woman was ("Seto's guest"), the staff gave Mokuba a pair of slippers for her, and some silk sleeping garments that Mokuba never knew they owned. He gave everyone specific instruction to treat the woman as an honored guest ("Seto's orders") and to not disrupt her. Then, he brought her sleeping body upstairs, and lay her gently on a dark blue bed, setting the neat covers over her. Putting the clothing and other accessories neatly folded beside the bed, Mokuba quietly shut the door, and pranced away like the little girl we all know he is deep inside. (AN: I didn't say anything.)

It wasn't the guest room.

* * *

YEAAAHHHH! AFTER SO MANY MONTHS OF WRITER'S BLOCK, I HAVE FINISHED CHAPTER 7! Okay, it's kind of clichéd, lame and non descriptive, and I don't really like how it turned out... Plus the second half is quite rushed(written in a few hours XD)... But hey, I'm updating. :runs in circles screaming: I cannot believe it. WOOT. 

Oh, and BTW, I did the repetitiveness through the scenes on purpose. I'm so annoying, ne? XD

Because of that recent no-review-replies-on-your-story rule, I will be posting chapter reviews on my fanfic livejournal. Go to my bio for the link.

I highly encourage you guys to visit my livejournal... It's lonely out there. :sniff: My only friends are **mischiefmagnet** and **Azurite**. **I update frequently, so visit for sneak peeks, suggestions and other stuff!** If you've also got one, leave a comment on mine and I'll get back to you. And still comment, even if you don't have one. Thanks!

Sooo... Please review! Don't scold me too much on my lateness... :sob: Compliments will be treasured, constructive criticism encouraged and considered, flame cried over. Please be honest, though. If it sucks, tell me. And anyways... Thanks for reading! On to Chapter Eight now...

So... Until next time, ja!

Now & Forever,

Ambiance-Dream


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